Husband For Hire
by DreamingOfParadise
Summary: Bella isn't overly impressed by her womanizing housemate Edward Cullen but, under exceptional circumstances, she has to pretend that he is her husband. Drama unfolds as the pair have to lie and convince those around them. A short story with OOC characters
1. Unexpected Visitors

**Husband For Hire**

_Chapter One – Unexpected Visitors_

"Edward? Edward _Cullen?_"

Bella Swan let out a very heavy sigh, staring at the scene in front of her. There were various pieces of lacy (and _unbelievably_ skimpy) underwear and clothing scattered across her living room, leaving a trail towards the stairs.

She wasn't the cleverest person in the world, but she knew damn well what her housemate had gotten up to last night.

It made her shudder just thinking about it.

"Edward Cullen, if you don't get your ass done here right this minute I will stamp on your laptop!"

There was the sudden sound of some very loud footsteps and the man being threatened quickly burst through the door, clutching at his side and pointing at Bella with his free hand. He looked like a police negotiator and acted as though Bella had a gun, waiting to fire.

"Don't you dare!" he panted, giving her a glare. Bella, however, didn't really notice this; she was too preoccupied with the fact that Edward was only wearing some tight blue boxers and had a messy head of bronze hair.

She stood silently for a while, eventually clearing her throat and taking a step backwards. The laptop was no longer within her reach and Edward sighed in relief.

"What did you want, anyway?" he asked, sounding a little bored now. A lazy grin played on his face; going to the gym daily had obviously paid off, he was dazzling _everybody_ lately, even Bella by the looks of things.

"What the hell is all this?" she asked, gesturing towards the garments with a sweep of her hand. She was pleased that her voice didn't sound too jumpy – in fact, she sounded pretty angry, which was the desired effect.

He frowned. "What does it look like?"

She was tempted to throw a pillow at him. Or maybe something more painful.

Taking a calming breath, she continued. "OK, I'll rephrase that so_ you_ can understand: what the hell is it doing _here_?" Her voice rose in pitch and she could feel her cheeks heating up. The sight of the red bra hooked on the door handle made her face turn a similar colour.

He ran a hand through his hair, making strands stick up in random places. Then, rubbing his eyes, he muttered, "It doesn't really take much brainpower to work it out."

She let out a frustrated sound and squeezed her hands together into fists. "Please just... just clear this up before I'm home from work!"

She reached for her bag and keys, giving him a pointed look. "I shouldn't have to put up with this... I know you've got a habit of..." she hesitated, "_picking up_ women, but please do it quietly in the future."

He smirked, giving her a salute. "Yes ma'am."

"Oh _my_ God," Bella muttered under her breath, shrugging on her coat. _Just think of the money he pays you, _she thought to herself, _you don't see him that much, just think of the rent…_

She was chanting this in her mind as she walked outside the door, hearing his distant chuckling as he retreated back into his room.

_Asshole, _she grimaced.

* * *

Edward heard Bella slam the door behind her and grinned to himself, slowly gathering up the clothing around him. He bundled it together into a messy pile and made his way up the stairs and into his bedroom.

Kicking the door shut with his bare foot, he threw the items onto the bed, rudely awakening the blonde woman who was lying in the middle. She groaned, sitting upright and casting her eyes on him. At first she was shocked and still confused, waiting for everything to come back to her.

When it eventually did, she laughed. "_Hello_ there."

Edward raised his eyebrows. "Hi," he replied slowly. "Uh, your clothes are all there."

Pulling the covers up to her neck, the woman frowned at him. "You want me to _go_? But what about last night?"

"There's no reason for you to stay," he shrugged. "And, quite honestly, I can't remember much about last night, so it couldn't have been that good. Anyway, I'll wait for you downstairs."

He closed the door just in time to dodge the pillow that was thrown violently across the room. It fell limply to the floor and the woman placed her head in her hands, crying quietly to herself in humiliation.

"Asshole!" she yelled.

* * *

Bella glanced at the clock on her computer screen, silently willing the minutes to tick away faster. At the moment, her lunch break seemed the highlight of her day and she groaned to herself, realising how sad that sounded.

There was the sound of a door opening and her boss, Mr Hale, walked into the office with an air of confidence. Despite this, he had a heavy frown on his face and Bella automatically expected some bad news, but she was surprised to hear him letting everybody off for an early lunch break.

She remained in her seat, too tired to leave today, and watched with mild interest as everybody rushed outside, Alice Brandon lingering around as usual. It almost made Bella gag when she was more or less attaching herself to her boss, and she turned away in disgust, reaching for her lunchbox and her little notebook that she was itching to write in.

She waited, though, and eventually the area around her became silent and she realised she was on her own again. That suited her just fine and she took a bite of her sandwich, leaning back into her chair. Then, checking that everybody was definitely gone, she retrieved her purple pad and began writing angrily.

_Stress Diary_

_19th September, 1pm_

_I really don't know how much more of this I can take._

_They say writing all my problems and worries down is supposed to help, but right now it just seems to be making everything worse. It just makes me realise the extent of everything that seems to keep happening to me._

_The main source of anxiety for me lately has been a certain Edward Cullen._

_I thought it'd be nice having some company in the house - he seemed nice enough during the interview six months ago. He said he was (quote) 'quiet, well behaved and reliable.' Also, he'd be paying the rent and would give me some extra money. _

_But lately, he's been absolutely_ awful_. Horrific, even. Every single morning I come down to find out that there's an extra guest in the house. It always makes me want to reach for my balls!_

_My stress balls, of course._

_I just can't stand this much longer! Work is enough of a hassle - I'm filling this in during my lunch break, no social life or friends, how fantastic - and I just don't want to come home to his attitude anymore._

_See? This ridiculous thing hasn't made me feel any better. I'm very close to shredding it into a million tiny pieces. I don't know what Rose was on about when she suggested this... maybe she was just suggesting something random to stop me from moaning..._

With another sigh, she closed the book and slipped it back into her bag. So far she'd only filled in two pages and it seemed to become more and more depressing after each entry.

_Never mind_, she thought, making a start on her salad. _Only 50 more years until I can retire..._

* * *

Sometimes, life throws up some very difficult choices.

Edward Cullen was now experiencing this problem.

He stood in the kitchen, thinking his options through to himself. The more he went around in circles, the more he realised just how difficult this choice was going to be. A heavy frown appeared on his forehead and he began pacing, fidgeting around out of habit.

"Pizza or a burger?" he mumbled under his breath. After another couple of minutes, he ran a hand through his hair in despair.

Then, noticing a few spare coins on the counter, he had a brainwave.

Tossing one into the air, he caught it and looked down at the outcome.

"Pizza it is," he grinned.

* * *

Bella turned off the radio and stopped her truck at her favourite fast food restaurant. She knew the food was bad for her and probably contained _way_ too much fat and goodness knows what, but she couldn't stop herself. She'd had an awful day.

At the office, everything had been non-stop. She was continuously on the go, typing out letters, sending documents, emailing, rushing about... She felt absolutely drained and needed a rush of some kind.

She shoved the fries into her mouth, glancing out of the window and then at everyone else there with her. They all seemed happy and cheerful; there was a family at the back along with a beaming child who looked like this place was the height of excitement... There were couples joking and laughing...

Then there was Bella, grumpily staring outside.

She took a long sip of her drink and was surprised by a sudden vibration in her pocket. Slipping her hand into her coat, she frowned and pulled out her phone, looking curiously at the screen.

When she recognised the number, she gasped loudly, causing a few people to glance at her.

For a few moments, she couldn't even gather the courage to answer the call. She took a few deep breaths and eventually pressed a button, slowly putting the monitor to her ear.

"Hello?" she said quietly.

"Bella!" the familiar voice chimed. "Oh my goodness! Long time no speak!"

"Mom," Bella whispered. "This is... unexpected."

Bella's Mom, Renee, and her new husband, Phil, had left her five years ago, when she was eighteen, in order to travel around the world. It was an ambitious plan and Bella never really expected it to last; it sounded like some stupidly far-fetched scheme.

Despite this, they left her on her own and never came back.

She found it difficult at first; sure, they'd left her enough money and allowed her to stay in the house, but she was alone. She was never really close to her mother and disliked Phil a lot (mainly his stupid baseball caps), but she still needed the company.

She eventually rented out the spare rooms for somebody to talk to, but this had, unfortunately, led to her meeting Edward of all people.

They promised to call her every week, giving them updates about what they were doing and where they were. That happened for the first month, but the gradually calls eased off, only coming once in a while; a rare occurence.

After a few years, the calls stopped completely and Bella had almost forgotten the sound of her own mother's voice, considering how long it had been.

"How have you been?"

Bella snapped out of her trance, reminding herself that she had to talk. "Um... good. Yeah. I guess."

"Well, you'll never guess what!"

She sighed, heading back towards her truck. "No, I don't think I will."

"Your father and I-"

"Mom, Phil isn't my father," Bella interrupted.

"Phil and I are back in Forks!"

She swallowed, taking this in. "Woah, OK.. well that's... again, that's unexpected!"

Then, as Bella slowly thought this through, she remembered a tiny lie she'd told her Mom a few months ago in a state of panic and her blood ran cold.

"We're coming back to the house," Renee announced excitedly. "We're just on the way back now and I thought we'd better warn you."

Bella nearly stumbled over in shock. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening...

"But Mom, I-"

"We're certainly looking forward to meeting your partner!"

Bella cringed, shaking her head to herself. _Why was this happening_?

"But Mom, please listen! I-"

"We'll be there in about five minutes, see you then!"

"Mom!"

The line went dead and Bella rushed to her truck, starting up the engine. This was not good. Not good at all...

She raced along the roads, her heart hammering wildly all the way.

* * *

Edward was just about to eat his pizza and sit back down in front of the TV when Bella burst in, looking flushed and exhausted. She slammed the door behind her, rushing around and meeting his eyes in a panic.

"Edward!" she shrieked.

"What have I done now?" he groaned, taking a bite out of his food. The cheese was incredibly stringy and the further he pulled the pizza away from his mouth, the longer the cheese string became, and he fumbled around in embarrassment.

Bella ignored his behaviour. "I need you to get out now. Like, _right now_."

He frowned. "Why?"

"Do you have to ask so many questions?!" Bella hissed, throwing her coat down onto the sofa. Edward watched her hurrying around in amusement.

"You're on drugs, aren't you?"

Bella gave him a glare. "You really don't want to aggravate me at this moment in time. I could seriously-"

"Well, you didn't deny it," he smirked. "What is it, then? Heroin?"

"Oh, shut up!" Bella screeched.

"Woah," he frowned, holding his hands up in the air. "Is there something wrong?"

Bella didn't answer.

"What's happening?" he asked. "I need some kind of explanation."

"No you don't!" Bella yelled. "I just need you to-"

There was a loud knock on the door and Bella froze on the spot, her eyes widening in horror. "Oh God," she whispered. "Oh God, oh God, oh God!"

Edward was now even more confused; he truly believed that she was having some kind of mental breakdown. He knew he tended to cause her stress, but it was never_ this_ bad. "Is it the police or something? Have you committed an unspeakable crime?"

Bella paced around, fiddling with her hands. "I'm not like you, Edward."

"Harsh," he muttered.

After a few moments, Bella still hadn't made any progress. "Just answer the door!" Edward sighed, jerking his head. "If you don't, I will."

"No!" Bella snapped loudly. "No. I'll... I'll do it now."

She didn't move and Edward raised his eyebrows. "Go on then," he prompted.

"Stop pressuring me!"

She slowly edged towards the door and took a deep breath, her hand resting on the knob.

She knew this was all her fault; she was the one who had lied, telling her mother that she was happily married (for some bizarre reason that she couldn't even remember) and now... well, now she dreaded to think what was gonna happen.

Ignoring this, she opened the door and was met by a pair of flailing arms.

"Bella! Oh my goodness, Bella!"

Renee hugged her daughter tightly and kissed her on the cheeks, pulling away to take a look at her. "My goodness, you've changed!"

"Well it has been five years," Bella pointed out bluntly. She looked past Renee's shoulder and sighed. "Hi, Phil."

He nodded in acknowledgement and began hauling in several pink suitcases. Bella was reluctant to lead them down the corridor but Renee was eager and pushed past, storming into the lounge.

Edward looked up at the sound of the sudden commotion and was met by a woman who looked like a middle aged version of Bella. She had a huge grin across her tanned face and she glanced over at a man by her side, giving him a wink. The man looked completely flummoxed and removed his baseball cap, wiping away at his forehead. Edward guessed he was just as in the dark as he was.

_Who the hell were these people and why were they here in his house? Well, Bella's house_.

"Um... hello?" he offered after a moment.

"So, Bella," the woman said slowly, "is this him?"

Edward frowned and looked between the pair. Bella looked like she was hyperventilating and chewed her lip frantically. She seemed to be turning whiter by the second.

He tried not to make an inappropriate comment, even though it was incredibly tempting.

"Uh... yes." She cleared her throat. "Yes, this is him, Mom."

It suddenly made sense to him; this was Bella's mother. That would explain the resemblance. But that didn't explain why they were talking about him in this way.

He couldn't blame them, though.

Before he could blink, Bella's mother rushed over and pulled him into a death grip, squeezing him tightly and making it very difficult for him to breathe. He coughed and spluttered, giving Bella a pleading look. She mouthed 'sorry' and placed a hand on her Mom's shoulder.

"Mom, please, Edward needs some space!"

She pulled away and he gasped, taking in some air. He only had a moment to recover before she cupped his cheeks like a child. He half expected her to coo and a few expletives almost escape his mouth.

"For God's sake, Mom! What the hell are you doing?"

"Yeah, Ren," the man suddenly piped up. "What's going on?"

She let out a sigh. "Sorry," she gushed, "I'm just so happy that Bella's finally married a decent man!"

At that moment, Edward let out a very loud snort.

When he was met by plenty of questioning faces, his expression turned blank and he glanced at Bella in complete disbelief. She gave him a terrified look and his mouth hung open for a minute or two.

Surely this was all some crazy mistake. Bella's mother thought he was Bella's _husband_? _That_ was never gonna happen...

"Uh... yeah," Bella swallowed, her body physically shaking. "Actually, do you mind if Edward and myself just have a moment to talk upstairs please?" She reached for his arm, yanking him towards the door. "It's just a bit of a shock seeing you after so long, y'know."

Edward moved along like a robot, still blinking wildly.

"Sure," Renee smiled. "I know you two like some time alone."

Bella cringed as they walked away and rushed up the stairs. They hurried into her room and she slammed the door behind them, taking a few deep breaths. It only took Edward a second to make an outburst.

"Bella, I don't know what the hell is going on inside your head, but you've got some serious explaining to do!" He paused, adding, "And you'd better hurry up, or my pizza will go cold."

"Ssh!" she exclaimed. "They're only downstairs!"

"But Bella," he replied, lowering his voice slightly, "This is absolutely ridiculous!"

"I know," she sighed. "But you're just gonna have to bear with me." She paused. "To put it bluntly, I need you to be my husband for a while."

* * *

**So here's the new story - I hope you liked it! A few pointers...**

**This particular story is, obviously, written in the third person, mainly because I fancied a change and also because I enjoyed writing it this way for my Doctor Who story. ****This is gonna be updated every Friday and hopefully I'll stick to that. **

**It's also supposed to be more humorous and light-hearted compared to some of my other stories. I hope... And also, everything about Bella lying will be explained next chapter.**

**Anyway, enough from me. I'm really nervous about this but please leave some feedback if you possibly can! Bye for now...**


	2. Ridiculous: Word of the Day

_**Previously:**_

_"Bella, I don't know what the hell is going on inside your head, but you've got some serious explaining to do!" He paused, adding, "And you'd better hurry up, or my pizza will go cold."_

_"Ssh!" she exclaimed. "They're only downstairs!"_

_"But Bella," he replied, lowering his voice slightly, "This is absolutely ridiculous!"_

_"I know," she sighed. "But you're just gonna have to bear with me." She paused. "To put it bluntly, I need you to be my husband for a while."_

**Husband For Hire**

_Chapter Two - Ridiculous: Word of the Day_

Edward stared at her for a few moments, his mouth freely hanging open.

"Be careful," Bella warned. "You might choke on a fly."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I... but I still don't understand!"

She avoided looking at him and kicked at the floor with the tip of her shoe.

"I'm waiting for an explanation."

Bella scowled at him. "Well, basically... my Mom phoned me up a few months ago, asking me how I was getting on with life in general," she explained. "It was quite a surprise, really, considering she hardly ever bothers..." She realised that she was rambling and attempted to sum up what she was trying to say. "And I... erm..."

Edward waited patiently. After a long time of Bella's stammering, he offered some help. "You told her you were married?"

Bella swallowed and nodded, very aware of how strange it sounded. "Yeah. I did."

"Why?"

It was a simple question, but Bella was a bit flummoxed when it came to answering. "I... I'm not really sure." She chewed her lip, really considering her reasons. "I guess Mom was pressurising me a little," she said slowly. "She just _assumed_ that I had somebody in my life that I loved and that I'd settled down..." She trailed off, feeling very uncomfortable. She decided to edit some things. "I just told her I was married to get her off my back. I didn't want to seem like a failure and... well, it was nice to pretend for a while."

She waited for Edward to say something snarky but it never happened. He just stood there, thinking to himself.

"Did you ever think she would come back here?" he asked.

Bella ran her fingers through her hair, sitting on her bed. "It all seems so silly, now."

"Yeah," Edward muttered, a little bitterly.

They were silent for a moment and a sudden booming voice echoed from downstairs, making Bella squirm; it was Phil, her mother's boyfriend.

"They're probably wondering what we're getting up to," Bella sighed, biting her lip as soon as the words left her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that _aloud_.

Edward didn't even bother replying and Bella leant forwards, placing her head in her hands.

"How long are they staying here?" he asked after a moment.

"I don't think it'll be for too long," she replied. "I'll have to ask them."

He nodded, taking this in. It was all very bizarre, and he certainly hadn't expected this when he woke up this morning (then again, he hadn't expected a naked blonde to be lying next to him either,) but he soon came to a decision. "I... I guess I can, well, be your _husband _for the duration of their visit."

Bella smiled, full of relief. "Thank you so much, Edward, I-" She trailed off. "Obviously there won't be any, erm, well y'know. There won't be any of _that _going on..."

He shook his head. "No. Of course not."

"And you obviously can't bring any more women back here for a while."

Edward's eyes widened in horror. "_What_?!"

"Well you can't!" Bella retorted. "What's it gonna look like?"

"This is ridiculous," he spat.

"Yeah. You've already said that before. It's fastly becoming your word of the day."

"And there are plenty of problems!" he exclaimed, ignoring Bella's comment. "Firstly, neither of us have wedding rings."

Bella started in surprise; she hadn't thought of that... Without thinking any further, she quickly rushed over towards her dressing table and rummaged through her old jewellery box, dumping several long necklaces that she couldn't even _remember_ wearing on the side. Edward watched this all in awe, still a little confused about what was happening, but smug because he was right.

He usually was.

Eventually, Bella hurried back over and held out a small ring. "This will have to do."

"That is _not_ going to fit on my finger..." Edward frowned. "And it's a woman's ring. Men don't tend to go around wearing cheap diamonds."

"Argh, for goodness' sake!" Bella erupted. "Look, I'll wear this ring and we can just say you lost yours. You are pretty useless after all." Edward opened his mouth to protest but Bella quickly carried on, not giving him the chance. "And besides, it'll only be _my_ ring Mom wants to look at anyway."

"I-"

"Shush, Edward!"

"No, I won't!" he suddenly protested. "In case you've forgotten, I'm the one doing you a favour here! All you seem to be doing is yelling at me and... snapping!"

She sat there, twiddling her thumbs for a while. She felt awful and knew that he was right... if only there was a way to repay him for doing this... A sudden thought came into her head and she winced to herself; it was going to cost her, but she really had no other choice. "Edward," she began, "I know this is an inconvenience for you-"

He scoffed. "Understatement!"

"But," Bella continued, "I'll make a deal. If you do this for me, you won't have to pay any rent for the duration of the time."

His face almost instantly lit up. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Yes. It... seems fair."

"So you're more or less hiring me to be your husband," he said slowly, grinning a little and showing his pearly teeth. "Well, how _amusing_. I never thought I'd do something like this in my lifetime."

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything."

He smirked. "You're a very lucky woman, y'know."

Bella snorted. "Don't kid yourself. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, sitting down beside her - his shoulder rubbed against hers. "You jumped at the chance."

She blinked a few times but just about managed to avoid his charm. "Of course I did." She stood back up and sat at her dressing table instead, smiling at him in satisfaction. His expression didn't falter but she hoped that, deep down, he was mortified.

"So, how's it gonna work anyway? Sounds like an obvious question but y'know," he shrugged.

This took Bella by surprise. "Erm..." She paused. "Well, I haven't really thought about it."

"Great," Edward muttered. "This is one spectacular plan."

Bella very nearly snapped at his sarcastic reply but stopped herself, realising, again, that_ he_ was the one doing _her_ a favour, and a major one at that.

"Bella?"

There was a sudden knock on the door and they both froze, alarmed by the sudden sound of Bella's Mom, Renee, searching for them.

"Oh God, what does she want?" Bella hissed through her teeth.

"Well, you have been missing for nearly ten minutes," Edward pointed out. "And you haven't seen her for a while so she's probably wondering why you're avoiding her. And-"

"Yes, alright Edward. I get the message."

"Bella, are you in there?" Renee called, hammering once more like a furious woodpecker.

"Give us a minute!" she yelled back.

Bella closed her eyes in despair; she really didn't have _any_ idea what to do. Edward and herself had absolutely _no_ chemistry whatsoever between them; most of the time they were arguing or being horrible towards each other. How could they even _begin_ to fool Renee and Phil?

Then again, her mother wasn't the most clever of people; she still wasn't quite sure where Germany was on a map.

After a few moments' thought, Bella opened her eyes, feeling exhausted but determined. She might as well give this a go, even if it was going to go horrifically wrong. It wasn't like her life could get much worse...

She suddenly thought of her friend Rose and wondered what she'd say about all this. She'd probably roll on the floor, laughing manically and clutching at her sides in pain.

"We'll just have to act natural," she suddenly stated in a whisper, walking over to stand by him.

"That makes no sense at all," Edward replied helpfully. "Acting natural would involve-"

Bella cut him off by holding up her hand. "Shush. You know what I mean."

"No, I-"

"Edward!" she hissed. "I appreciate you doing this but-"

"Bella, I don't mean to interrupt whatever you're getting up to, but Phil's getting hungry and he needs something to eat."

Bella snorted at her mother's request. "She's making Phil sound like a little baby. She'll be changing his dyper any minute now."

Edward smiled briefly before walking towards the door. Bella did the same, fidgeting around nervously. They tiptoed over slowly, each of them reluctant to go outside. Edward truly didn't know what to expect and, despite the oddity of what was happening, he was pleased for a little more excitement in his life. Sure, spending time with women was fine, but it got a little tiresome and repetitive after a while.

Bella, on the other hand, was still in disbelief that she was actually doing this. She knew she had a bit of a problem with lying and making up tiny details, but this one had really come back to bite her on the-

"As soon as you're ready, Bella," Renee persisted, sounding quite annoyed now.

Bella rolled her eyes, resting her hand on the doorknob. She turned towards Edward. "Ready?"

He moved his head infintesimally and Bella interpreted this as a yes.

"Alrighty then," she muttered, opening the door and seeing her mother standing there right in front of them. She jumped a little in surprise but quickly smiled, mostly focusing her attention on Edward. He felt really awkward under her gaze and found it very difficult to maintain eye contact, but he managed for half a minute before clearing his throat.

"There you are!" Renee exclaimed. "Um, Bella, would you mind getting us something to eat?"

"Sure, no problem," she replied slowly, a little anxious about leaving Edward and Renee alone. Despite this, she made her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen, half listening to the conversation between them as they followed and settled into the lounge.

"So, how did you meet my Bella?"

She grimaced; Edward had better be good at making things up...

He hesitated. "We... um... we met at a bar."

Bella exhaled heavily and started preparing some sandwiches.

"At the time, Bella was quite... intoxicated, so I offered her some help and drove her home."

Bella popped her head through the gap in the door and grimaced at Edward. He grinned at her wickedly and carried on with his storytelling.

"I'm really sorry that we missed your wedding, anyway," Renee continued as Bella brought the plate through. Phil dived on the food almost immediately and she tried not to grimace when he noisily chewed on the bread. "At least there will be the wedding photos that we can take a look at."

Bella almost dropped the cups of juice that she was holding. Exchanging a scared look with Edward, she said, "Oh, but we haven't looked at those in _ages_, Mom, they might be a little hard to find, especially amongst all my junk."

"I'll help you rummage around," Renee smiled. "You know what I'm like when I want something."

Edward wanted to groan but he just forced a smile and reached for a sandwich.

"So, Mom," Bella said, trying to make herself comfortable next to Edward, "what made you suddenly want to come back here?"

"We were missing you," she cooed and Bella tried not to laugh; she knew that was a lie.

"What's the_ real_ reason, Mom?"

Edward sniggered and his new _wife_ nudged him in the ribs with a bit too much force. He made a strange noise and frowned at her.

"We were missing Forks, to be honest," Renee continued while this happened. "It was just too hot in some of the places we went to, wasn't it Phil?" He grunted in response. "Yeah, we couldn't cope with the heat."

"Oh, boo hoo," Bella replied. "And there's us suffering into the wet and cold."

Her mother tutted. "You were always a drama queen, Bella."

Edward snorted this time and the skin around his eyes crinkled as he laughed.

"And how long are you thinking of staying for?" Bella persisted, ignoring the noises coming from the person sat beside her. She knew this was an important question and held her breath waiting for the answer.

"We were thinking maybe six months."

Edward spluttered on his drink and starting coughing in surprise. "I'm sorry... w-what did you just say?"

Renee frowned. "I said we want to stay for six months or so. Is that a problem for you two? I know it wasn't great of us to arrive unexpected like this, but it is our home after all and we thought you'd like to see us..."

Bella cut off her rambling, despite being a little shell shocked. "Yes, Mom, we understand. It w-was just a surprise..."

She didn't want to meet Edward's eyes just yet; she knew he would be livid. They hadn't expected them to stay _that _long and knew that it would be unbelievably difficult to pretend being married for a whole six months.

Truthfully, Bella couldn't see it lasting a _day_.

Edward, on the other hand, was wondering how he was going to cope without women for six months. He was already planning his technique of inviting himself back to _their _place rather than his. He knew it'd be cheeky, but they'd love him for it.

"You know me," Renee suddenly said, making them both jump. "Always full of surprises!"

Bella and Edward laughed through their teeth.

Surprises, indeed.

* * *

**Sorry for the slightly-later-than-usual update, but I hope you enjoyed it! Cake for any Doctor Who fans that can spot the reference!**


	3. Separate Rooms

**Sorry for the late update, but things should be regular from now on!**

* * *

_**Previously...**_

_She didn't want to meet Edward's eyes just yet; she knew he would be livid. They hadn't expected them to stay that long and knew that it would be unbelievably difficult to pretend being married for a whole six months._

_Truthfully, Bella couldn't see it lasting a day._

_Edward, on the other hand, was wondering how he was going to cope without women for six months. He was already planning his technique of inviting himself back to their place rather than his. He knew it'd be cheeky, but they'd love him for it._

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Three - Separate Rooms_

"So," Renee suddenly said, placing her crumb-filled plate down onto the table, "have you done much with the house? Re-decorated anything?"

Bella exchanged a quick glance with Edward before answering. "No, not really. _He's _not really very good with tools." _Even though he is one himself_, she thought to herself, resisting the urge to snicker.

Edward laughed bitterly. "Yeah, Bella_ never _stops nagging me, though."

Phil grunted at this point. "I know the feeling, mate."

"Oi!" his wife said, nudging him in the ribs. "I'm not that bad!"

He scoffed. "What about that time in the clothes shop? You didn't stop bugging me until I bought you that coat. And it wasn't cheap, either!"

She dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand and Bella couldn't help rolling her eyes; even the sound of Phil's rumbling voice was enough to irritate her. She still really disliked him and she thought vaguely of her real father, Charlie. He was a lot more fun, constantly joking around; not taking her mother away from her...

"Do you mind if we take a look around, anyway?" Renee stood up and headed towards the door. Phil reluctantly followed, another small detail that annoyed Bella, making her grind her teeth together. She wondered how she'd survive six months in his company... he was even worse than Edward and that was saying something.

"Sure, no problem," she eventually managed. They both promptly disappeared outside and, once the sound of them ascending the stairs had stopped, an argument instantly erupted between the pair still in the lounge.

"Bella," Edward erupted, leaning forward on the couch, "six months? Are you taking the flaming piss?"

"How was I supposed to know?" she hissed back. "I'm not psychic!"

"Clearly," he muttered. "But, Bella, seriously, this is-"

"Ridiculous?" she offered. "Yes, I know. And I'm sorry... but remember my deal? Rent free for six months - it can't be that bad."

He seemed to squirm and Bella sighed, thinking to herself. Was she really that unendurable? She didn't think she was _that_ unattractive; in fact, she thought that she was a fairly decent person. She could be kind to people that she liked, and always had other people's best interests at heart.

It just happened that Edward brought out her bad side.

"I guess I'll be able to put up with you," he muttered. "But it'll certainly be a challenge."

"Boo hoo," Bella snapped, grabbing a sandwich.

***

Meanwhile upstairs, Renee and Phil were talking.

"Well," she whispered, "what do you think of him?"

Phil shrugged, peeking around the bedroom. "He seems alright, I guess." After making sure that everything was in order, he nodded and closed the door behind him. He'd never been one hundred percent certain about leaving Bella alone in the house, but he sure was glad that she hadn't touched his and Renee's bedroom. In fact, it looked as though nobody had been in there ever since they left. There was a little dust on the surfaces but, apart from that, everything was the same.

They made their way along the corridor. "Come on, Phil, that tells me absolutely nothing."

He grunted, reaching for the next door. They quickly proceeded to another room and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Well, this tells me one thing."

"What?" she frowned. "What is it?"

"Not just separate beds but separate _rooms_. Looks like Bella and what's-his-name's so called marriage isn't going too well."

Renee's mouth dropped open as she peeked around the room. Sure enough, it seemed as though Edward and her daughter each had their own private space; no double bed or room together. "Oh my god."

"Well," he said, smirking lightly, "It'll certainly be interesting going back downstairs now..."

***

"For God's sake, Edward, you can't eat _all_ the sandwiches!" Bella screeched. "Look at the mess you've made!"

"Quit nagging me. You sound like an old woman," he grumbled, spraying crumbs onto his shirt. She rolled her eyes in despair.

"You know if anyone ever really does marry you, they'll have a darn hard-"

At that moment, Bella's parents walked into the room and her voice trailed off. She wanted to cringe but plastered on her usual smile, quietly wondering to herself, once more, how she would cope with six months of this lying. She knew that she'd been completely stupid with all that had happened and that it would be the simplest solution to just admit the truth, but she knew that would be humiliating. Her mother's opinion of her would probably make her cry.

But she needed to stay strong... she should just stick at this crazy plan and then 'divorce' Edward as soon as she possibly could.

"Hi, Mom," she smiled.

"Bella, can you tell us exactly why you two have separate rooms?"

Edward's eyes bulged, while Bella sucked in a shocked breath. "Oh... I forgot about that," she muttered.

"We've had to sleep in separate rooms," Edward told them suddenly. "I couldn't put up with Bella's snoring for much longer."

Bella wanted to throttle him and the look she gave him across the room could have quite easily killed something innocent that was in her path.

"Oh," Renee chuckled, taking a seat. "We were getting a little worried!"

He laughed along. "Yeah, Bella doesn't usually admit it because it's a little embarrassing, y'know?"

She nodded in agreement, glancing over at her daughter. "Your secret's safe with us, Bella." Phil actually winked at her patronisingly and it made Bella want to gag. She managed to stop herself, though, and just smiled sweetly back. After a moment of humiliation, she stood up. "Please excuse me for just a minute."

Quickly heading upstairs, she rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind her, collapsing onto the floor. The chill coming from the tiles below was soothing and she closed her eyes, leaning against the purple towels that were hanging from the handle.

"Don't cry," she muttered to herself. "Whatever you do... don't cry."

She wiped angrily at her tears which she couldn't stop from falling. "You're such an idiot... a stupid, idiotic _idiot_!" Her thoughts were being overwhelmed by a mixture of frustration and anger, and that was a dangerous combination.

Her bed suddenly seemed very appealing and her eyelids remained shut for a long time.

Sighing to herself, she flushed the toilet and quickly washed her hands to make everything sound normal. She was vaguely repulsed by her reflection in the mirror; her eyes were red and watery, and she could have sworn that frown lines were developing on her forehead.

With one more deep breath, she opened the door and was startled to see Edward standing out there waiting for her. She gasped and automatically staggered backwards.

"What are you doing, you buffoon!"

"Charming," he muttered. "I just thought I'd see what you were doing." Bella's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Y'know, just to make the parents think I actually care for you." Her face fell and her blood boiled once more.

"Why do you always have to be like that?"

"Like what? You're the one who called me a buffoon."

She sighed. "I hate to say it, but you do have me stumped there."

He grinned; the corners of his eyes crinkling. Bella couldn't help smiling back and looked at the floor. She was very aware of how cramped it was up here and was trying not to look directly at him for too long; she dreaded to think what would happen.

After considering this, she shuddered; he was _Edward_, for goodness' sake.

"So... yeah," he breathed, feeling a little awkward. "Are you going back downstairs now?" He gestured behind him and Bella nodded reluctantly.

"Guess I've got no choice."

He shuffled out the way, brushing past her shoulders. "After you."

She smiled nervously and walked by, a little confused by how she was acting. Had Edward just been _civil_ to her?

"Wait," she said, turning around to face him. "Have Mom and Phil drugged you?"

He didn't reply and Bella assumed he had no idea what she meant.

"Well you're acting all... polite."

He snorted. "I let you walk down the stairs first - yeah, that's _really_ gentleman-ly."

She knew it was too good to be true. Exhaling heavily, she proceeded back to the lounge.

***

A few hours later Bella announced that she was going to bed, unable to stop thinking about the feeling of a soft pillow beneath her aching head. It was unlikely that she'd sleep straight away, anyway; her mind would be active for a long time yet as it tried to digest exactly what had happened today, but she just wanted to escape and stop having to pretend for a while.

"But Bella, it's still early yet... stay a little longer," Renee pleaded.

"Mom, I'm really tired," she groaned. "Work was busy today and the shock of seeing you two has worn me out even more. I need sleep."

"Alright, love, have a good night."

Bella smiled at her Mom and hugged her. "It's nice to have you back," she murmured.

"Yeah, same, Bells. I've really missed this place."

Bella pulled away and nodded towards Phil. "Night."

She then headed straight to the door and was just about to step out when her mother's voice caught her by surprise.

"Er, Bella? Aren't you forgetting somebody?"

Bella turned around reluctantly, frowning at her. "No, I don't think so."

Her mother's eyes moved towards Edward and she groaned internally.

"Goodness, how could I forget?" she said brightly, wondering if anybody else could tell how false her voice sounded. She bent down over Edward and hugged him lightly, murmuring something in his ear.

"Night, _darling_."

When she pulled away, Edward's eyes were shining in what looked like amusement. "Night _honey_."

Bella instinctively wanted to shudder but locked her muscles together while she walked out the room, feeling somebody's eyes on her. On the way up the stairs she suddenly lost all her strength and sat down on the stairs, running her hands through her hair.

This was a mess. A horrible, complicated mess and she couldn't see anyway out of it.

Half a year suddenly felt like a _very_ long time.

She sat there for a while and eventually dragged herself up to the bathroom, trying, once more, not to cry.

***

After she'd finished her usual routine of brushing her teeth and removing her make up, Bella emerged from the bathroom and once again jumped, seeing Edward standing there right in front of her. She automatically turned away, covering her bare, pale face that she disliked, and snapped at him, despite the strange look that was on his face.

"Are you gonna scare me every time I come out of this room?"

He rolled his eyes. "Why have you got your back to me?"

"Because I feel like it." She paused. "Are we talking for any particular reason? Because I feel as though I could collapse at any moment."

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "I was just trying to show some concern."

Bella snorted. "Don't give me that rubbish."

"Bella," he sighed, feeling frustrated.

"Or is this just so the parents think you actually care about me?" She mimicked his voice perfectly and kicked at the floor in anger. It was actually a little scary for her to think just how much she sounded like him.

"Bella, for God's sake, I was just worried. You looked really unwell downstairs."

She glanced briefly at him, unwilling to show her full face. He seemed to be sincere and serious, and she didn't know how to react; this was all new to her.

At this moment in time, she realised that it was _her_ being the asshole.

"Sorry," she murmured in defeat. "I'm just tired. Long day."

"Yeah," he replied, exhaling. "That's certainly one way to describe it." After a pause, he added, "Anyway, have a good night. You need some rest for tomorrow."

She nodded and heard him start to walk down the stairs. "Edward?" she called, not knowing if he stopped. "Thank you."

They went their separate ways, both feeling a little confused. Bella was still puzzled by Edward's behaviour and Edward himself... well, he was muddled about the very same thing. He didn't know if he was being influenced, but the way he'd acted in the past five minutes had been barely recognisable.

He scratched at his forehead and sighed, walking into the lounge once more.

* * *

**I am sorry for not updating so quickly. I wasn't quite sure where to go with this chapter, but now I'm sure and updates should be regular; every Friday. Also, the next chapter is focusing on Edward, so that should be fun! Please leave some feedback if you can!**


	4. A Classic

**Thanks for the reviews last time, here's the fourth bit...**

* * *

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Four – A Classic_

Edward lay awake in bed for a long time that night and, by the time the morning came around, he was sure that he had more or less memorised the pattern on his ceiling. The curtains over his window were never really good at blocking out any light, and the eerie glow from the moon crept through, casting a dim outline around him.

His mind didn't seem to want to rest, and he tossed and turned over many times. The springs creaked noisily underneath him, but not for the usual reasons.

He rubbed his eyes roughly and glanced over at the illuminated red digits coming from his clock on the bedside table; just as he did so, the time flickered from 2.59 am to 3.00 am. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he slumped back into the pillow and tried counting sheep.

He only reached twenty before his mind flickered back to Bella. It was wrong of him, and he knew it, but he just kept continuously imagining the look on her face as she left the lounge today to go to upstairs. Even though she didn't look particularly happy every time she talked to him, she usually had a twinkle in her chocolate brown eyes; deep down he thought that she _enjoyed_ teasing him. But today she was completely different; she looked scared, as though she had been burdened with something terrible and had the world's problems on her shoulders.

He hated seeing it.

Despite winding her up a lot, Edward was grateful towards Bella; she_ had_ given him a place to live after all, even considering his less-than-perfect past.

He couldn't decide on something though; whether the cause of her suffering was because of him, or because of her parents. He had thought about it a lot; he liked to think that he wasn't being overly cruel. Sometimes he made her smile - he thought of their encounter earlier when she was leaving the bathroom. Her laughter had been wonderful to hear... And, on top of this, Bella had been living with him for a few years now and she'd never looked this troubled before, so it couldn't have been him...

It must be down to her parents. He considered this for a moment and realised that he must be right; Bella had been seriously hurt by them in her past and he could understand her reaction. He couldn't even _begin_ to imagine what it would be like being left alone at the age of eighteen. How could her mother have left Bella so easily?

When he thought about this, he felt as though he understood Bella a little better. A tiny bit.

Letting out one more heavy sigh, he closed his raw eyes once more and somehow managed to eventually drift off into a restless sleep.

***

Bella trudged away down the stairs, completely understanding where the idea of looking like a zombie came from. The thought of a day of work ahead of her nearly made her cry, but in the bathroom earlier she had given herself a brief pep talk.

"Come on, Bella," she breathed to herself. "You can't let this get to you… it's just Mom and Phil. It's only six months… just under two hundred days…"

She shuddered at this point and desperately splashed her face with some cold water.

Walking into the kitchen, she managed a smile towards her mother. "Hi Mom. Did you sleep alright?"

"Y'know," she started, turning away from the toaster to face her daughter, "it was the best feeling waking up here. I feel as though I finally belong somewhere... we're back home, Bella."

Renee beamed and Bella tried to reflect this, but she couldn't quite do it.

"Anyway, what are you doing today?"

"I'm going into work, like I do every day," Bella frowned._ My own mother knows me _really_ well_... she thought to herself. _Or maybe she's not expecting me to have a job... No. You're just being paranoid now..._

"Oh, right," she replied quietly, bursting into Bella's thoughts. "Does Edward work?"

A snort almost escaped her but she just shook her head. "No, but he's looking for work, I'm sure."

"Phil's had that problem. The whole unemployment thing... it's dreadful."

"Yeah, well Phil is just lazy," Bella muttered, so quietly that her mother didn't notice. "What about you? Got much planned?"

"Well, we were thinking of getting to know Edward, actually."

Bella's eyes bulged. "Have fun." She glanced down at her watch. "Anyway, I'd better go now... I'm running a little late. See you later!"

***

"Afternoon," Renee muttered, a little sarcastically, a few hours later.

Edward grunted and glanced at the clock on the wall. "1pm... that's quite early for me to surface, really." He quickly swigged some orange juice from the carton and frowned towards his new parents in law, who were both sat at the kitchen table. "What are you two doing today, anyway?"

"Bella asked us that already," she replied and Edward didn't quite understand why this was important.

"And...?" he prompted.

"Well, it just shows Bella and yourself are alike... well suited. Similar interests and all."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Sure. What's your answer, anyway?"

Renee smiled widely. "Well, we'll be getting to know you."

He wanted to gulp, but just nodded eagerly. "Good. Good."

"So, sit down," she said, pulling out a chair. "Tell us a bit about yourself."

***

Bella was in fear of developing repetitive strain injury, but that didn't stop her glancing at the clock for the hundredth time in the space of a few short hours. She was feeling anxious, tired and bored out of her mind. She hadn't slept much last night; half because of her mind whirling around on overdrive and half because Edward wouldn't stop making noises from the room next to her. The walls were quite thin and all she could hear was his occasional grunting and the sound of his bed moving.

She didn't really need much logic to come to an answer.

Typing blindly on her keyboard, she groaned once more and prayed for her lunch hour to come around. She needed to talk to somebody sane and knew that her one option would be Rose... despite this, she'd have to tell her what was happening and that was almost guaranteed to be humiliating.

Bella suddenly felt somebody tap her shoulder and gasped, seeing one of her employees, Alice Brandon hovering by her shoulder.

She sighed very heavily, not liking the person in her company _at all. _She used to enjoy her work before Alice joined the team - she was an annoying, shallow type, constantly whispering and pointing at Bella, and hanging around their boss Jasper Hale like a leech. Bella hated her and the very sight of her spiky dark hair made her want to shudder.

"Guess what, Swan?"

Bella rolled her eyes; Alice always insisted on calling her by her surname. It was incredibly irritating and reminded her of being at school - Alice was the bully.

She tried not to let it get to her. "Is it important, _Alice_?"

"Well," she said, twirling some hair between her fingers, "_I've_ been promoted."

Bella's mouth instinctively dropped open and Alice grinned smugly.

"No more working in this grotty little floor anymore," she smirked, kicking a box on the floor. Bella noted that it was full of her belongings; she was leaving today, then.

"Oh, Alice, that's wonderful... I won't have to see you everyday, now!"

She laughed bitterly. "Oh but, Swan, I'll be with Mr Hale all the time now. I'm practically his, like, what's it called...? Yeah! His PA, now."

"Poor guy."

"Anyway, just thought I'd inform you," she sneered. "See ya."

And then she was gone, strutting out of the room. Bella heard a groan to her left and saw Emmett, her friend, with his head in his hands.

"That girl is unbelievable."

"I know," she groaned. "At least she won't be here anymore."

He turned to face her, his big frame twisting in the seat. "God knows why Hale would want her as his personal assistant. She's probably gonna drive him insane."

"And then she'll hopefully get the sack," Bella grinned mischievously.

Emmett grinned. "Fingers crossed! Anywho, it's lunch time now and I'm starving... are you coming to the canteen?"

Bella shook her head, standing up. "No, I need to make a phonecall."

"Oh. Is that to your friend, Rose?"

"Yup." Bella eyed him carefully. "You interested or something?"

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Just curious. I'll see you later, anyway."

She waved and waited until she was alone, before whipping out her mobile and dialling a number. After a few rings, a voice filled into her ear. "Hello?"

"Hi Rose, it's Bella."

"Oh, hey," she replied cheerfully. "We haven't talked in a while! How are you?"

Bella paused. "I've been better."

She heard Rose sigh. "What's wrong now, then?"

"Sorry to put this all on you, but I really am having a crisis and need somebody to talk to..."

"It's fine, Bells. That's what I'm here for. Go on, spit it all out."

Bella exhaled, knowing Rose's reaction would unbearable. "Well... it's Edward."

She heard a snort from the end of the line. "Surprising. Shock of the century, that."

"Well... argh, I don't know how to say this..." She paused. "Well, my Mom and Phil have decided to suddenly appear back home after their tour of the world..." She said that a little bitterly, but that was nothing new. "And... well, ages ago I told Renee a tiny little lie."

"Right," Rose said slowly. "And that lie is...?"

"That I had married somebody and settled down."

"Of course that's a_ tiny_ little lie, Bella," Rose scoffed. "But what's this got to do with Edward?" She spoke slowly towards the end and Bella knew she'd figured it out. She took a calming breath and waited for the enslaught.

"Bella," she spluttered, "please don't tell me that you've pretended to be Edward's wife?!"

Her reply was a whisper. "I have."

The laughter flowing into Bella's ear was actually painful and she winced for a moment, pulling the phone away until Rose had finished. She waited a moment. "Done now?"

"No," she breathed, bursting into another fit. Bella rolled her eyes in despair and waited. "I know it's bad, but I panicked!"

"Bella, this is _hilarious_!"

Bella's face turned to stone. "No it bloody well isn't! I wouldn't marry Edward if he was the last man on this planet!"

This made her laugh even more. "Well, Bella, this is definitely a classic."

"Thanks. That makes me feel much better."

"How long are they staying for?" Rose managed. "Your parents, I mean."

"Six months."

"What? You've got to be Edward's wife for six months?"

Bella confirmed this quietly.

"Well, Bella, you're well and truly stuffed. There's nothing I can do for you."

"Thank you for your brilliant advice, Rose. I'm going now."

She hung up and gently placed her head on the cold desk.

***

A few hours later, Edward, Renee and Phil were still in the same place. Renee was talking along happily, while Phil had lost interest and zoned out, currently thinking about a particularly entertaining baseball match that he'd watched last night. Edward was feeling a little infuriated; how could somebody think of so many questions to ask about him?! It was absolutely ridiculous.

He frowned to himself. Bella was right - that was fastly becoming his favourite word.

"So what did you do in University?" Renee persisted.

"I studied Physics," he answered. "I used to be quite a geek, really."

"And did you have a job?"

He swallowed; he'd never really talked about anything that had happened to him before. He'd have to edit out some details...

"Yes. I worked in an office for a while. But... I had a bad time and I had to stop working. Then I met Bella and... well, my life changed."

That wasn't strictly a lie... he had had a bad time, but that was with the police and he wasn't going to tell them _that_. Also, he had met Bella and his life certainly had changed... he had somewhere to live.

But he had never worked in an office. He shuddered at the thought.

Renee seemed to accept his answer. "Interesting. Well, I do feel like I know you better now!"

He smiled with gritted teeth, looking at the clock again. "Good... because it has been about four hours!" He paused. "Actually, I'd better be going out now. I've... I've got a job interview."

He cringed after he'd said that but headed quickly towards the door.

"What's it for, Edward?" Renee inquired.

"Nothing special, just another office job," he lied. "I won't be long. See you later!"

He hurried upstairs, quickly brushing his hair and making himself look half respectable. He then headed out, in the direction towards his favourite bar. It was late in the afternoon but that didn't matter to him... he'd just have to wait until some people turned up.

***

_Stress Diary_

_20th September, 5pm_

_How could things get so much worse over the space of just over 24 hours?!_

_I still just can't even begin to comprehend this mess I've got myself into. I've been such an idiot and to think it could so easily be resolved... well, not exactly easily. But I could have just told the truth for once in my life. _

_Rose thinks this is all a laugh. Phoning her earlier was certainly an experience..._

_I seriously believe that if I don't get help soon, I'll end up having a breakdown._

_And Alice bloody Brandon is getting on my nerves. She managed to probably raise my blood pressure in the space of a minute earlier today. Still, on the bright side, I won't have to see her anymore._

_Another cheerful entry..._

Bella closed her book that she'd been filling in by leaning on her lap and started up her truck's engine. She didn't exactly want to go home and she didn't want to stay at work either...

_How wonderful my life has become_, she thought bitterly to herself, before driving off into the distance.

***

Edward slumped into the stool at the bar and leant over onto the glass counter, quietly asking the bartender for a drink. He ran his hands through his hair again, feeling very exhausted after another long day. It was extremely difficult keeping track of the lies Bella and himself had told to her parents, and it took a lot of work to get the continuity right.

"Thanks," he muttered when his drink was placed in front of him. He handed some money over without looking up. "Keep the change."

When he'd taken a sip of the beverage and felt it warming his throat, he began to relax a little. His shoulders drooped a little and he let out a long breath.

At that moment, he decided to take a look around. The club was quite busy and loud and thumping music was throbbing from the speakers. A DJ was in the corner spinning some records and he grimaced at him, disliking his obnoxious taste in music.

There were flashing purple lights that illuminated his face every now and then, and the club was packed with people. There were groups huddled together on the dancefloor and he was just beginning to consider leaving, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

Whipping around, he was met by a short haired brunette whom, he noted, was extremely thin and tall. Her face was plastered with a little too much make up and she was a bit too close to him at the moment.

Despite this, he grinned at her, putting the thoughts of Bella and her parents somewhere in the back of his busy mind. It was something he automatically did around women and he quickly used his charm.

"Hello there," he said slowly. "What's somebody like you doing in a place like this?"

She grinned. "Quoting Timbaland now, are you?"

He frowned, having no idea what she was on about. He'd never liked the kind of mainstream popular music and was a little baffled. Despite this, he quickly laughed. "Yup. You got me there. Can I get you a drink?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Sure."

***

Bella arrived home a little while later and walked into the lounge.

"Hi Mom, Phil," she said tiredly. "Where's Edward?"

"Didn't he tell you?" Renee frowned. "He's at a job interview."

Bella wanted to widen her eyes but she just nodded slowly. "Oh... yeah, of course. I must have forgotten." She headed out towards the kitchen. "I'll make us some food. Does lasagne sound good to you?"

"Fantastic."

When she reached the kitchen, Bella shook her head to herself. She knew Edward was probably out with some woman, and just wished he'd be back in time, before the parents became suspicious...

***

Jasmine, the woman in Edward's company, laughed loudly and nudged him gently on the chest.

"You're so funny!" she exclaimed.

He smiled, sipping on his fifth drink. He was pleased with himself; his thoughts were quite blurry at the moment and he couldn't really remember that much clearly, apart from the fact that he was in the company of a fairly attractive woman. She was distracting him, which was what he wanted.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?" he asked. "This music is starting to make my brain melt."

She snickered. "Sure... it is a little hot in here."

He raised an eyebrow.

"So," she said slowly while Edward put on his coat, "your place or mine?"

For some reason that he couldn't quite remember, he knew that he couldn't go back to his place, so he suggested hers, somewhat cheekily. She grinned, despite this, and reached for his hand, pulling him out of the nightclub.

Somewhere in his subconscious, Edward knew what he was doing was wrong, but he decided to ignore this and climbed on into the taxi.

* * *

**Thank you for reading the update - I hope you enjoyed it! There will be more with Alice Brandon in the future - it wasn't a random little thing, I promise!**


	5. A Kiss

**Firstly, I really do apologise for the _stupidly _silly amount of time it took to update. I said that this story was on hold as I worked on the other story, but now I've started work on this one again seeing as the other is nearing its end. Oh, and in case you've forgotten, which is probably the case, in the last chapter Edward ended up leaving a club with a random woman called Jasmine. Surprise surprise there.**

* * *

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Five – A Kiss_

Edward Cullen knew almost straight away after he'd woken up that _something _was seriously wrong. He wasn't sure exactly what, but it took him a few seconds to remember everything - he'd always loved that wonderful moment; waking up without any memories of what day it was, or what had happened on the previous day.

But this time, the realisation hit him hard and, as he turned over in the comfortable bed, he could see the faint outline of somebody lying next to him. He quickly scanned his own body and, unsurprisingly, he was naked. A small smile spread automatically across his face.

The room was dark and he started to sit up, fumbling around blindly for his clothes. There was something niggling away at the back of his mind that he just couldn't seem to ignore, though. He _knew _he shouldn't be here, but that was usually always the case anyway. That was what he enjoyed so much - the forbidden element of it all.

But today there was something else... something important.

His eyes widened once he slowly realised. Bella and her parents.

"Crap," he muttered, hurriedly buttoning up his shirt. "This is_ not_ good..."

"What isn't?"

He whipped around, startled by the croaky voice of the woman. She turned on a light beside her and Edward could see that she was sat upright in the bed, covering her chest with the covers. He'd certainly faced this scenario a hundred times before, and he searched desperately through his pre-prepared mental book of fail safe excuses.

"Sorry, I need to get to work," he mumbled, reaching for his shoes. "I don't mean to leave so abruptly, but-"

"It's fine," she cut in. "Just let me give you my number and you can call me, yeah?"

He had barely agreed before she was busily scribbling over something on a piece of paper. It irritated him how long she was taking; his head was really starting to pound after all that drink last night and he desperately needed some fresh air.

"Here you go," she smiled, leaning over to hand him the paper. He nodded and slipped it into the back pocket of his trousers.

"I'll phone you soon," he lied, reaching for the door. "Thanks for last night."

It was only when he'd made his way downstairs and outside into the cool breeze that he remembered that he had no idea whatsoever where he was. Surely he couldn't be too far away... he had a vague memory of ordering a taxi, but it all turned fuzzy from then on.

He sighed and reached for his mobile and wallet, checking he had enough cash. He then quickly called a taxi - he'd already added the number in his phonebook in preparation for these types of emergencies - and, while it rang, he scrumpled up the piece of paper the woman whose name he'd forgotten had given him and chucked it in the nearest bin.

He just prayed Bella was in a good mood today.

* * *

Bella paced around in the kitchen, feeling absolutely _furious_ at her supposed husband, and began trying to resist the urge to throw something. The toaster was currently within her reach and she knew that definitely wouldn't be a good thing to hurl across the room.

She knew _exactly_ what he'd been up to last night and it made her see red. She kept imagining pools of lava bubbling away and that definitely represented her temper. Not only that, she'd had to lie to her Mom and Phil several times. As the time had ticked by, they'd started getting more and more worried, which was only natural of them.

"Where _is _he?" Renee asked, looking at her watch. "What if something's happened to him? Bella?"

"Mom, I don't know what's happened," Bella snapped, sounding harsher than she'd intended. "Sorry, I'm just as worried as you are."

"Something terrible could have happened... oh gosh, I'm gonna have a panic attack..."

"Has he got a mobile?" Phil asked and Bella managed to nod stiffly. "Ring him then," he said, making it sound so obvious that she felt her hands beginning to ball into fists. He'd made her seem like a stupid child and...

_No, _she thought to herself. _Keep calm... keep calm. It's starting to look as though I have some serious anger issues._

"Alright," she murmured. "I'll ring him now."

She stepped out the room with her own phone and after she took a few calming breaths, she punched in Edward's number, feeling ready to yell at him.

The phone rang and rang, before Edward's voice finally reached her ear.

"Hi, this is Edward Cullen... I'm too busy to talk to you right now-"

"Argh, the stupid _idiot_," she grumbled, snapping the phone shut. "Busy my backside."

She walked back in to meet her parents and already had her lie planned out in her head. There was no point in making them worry unnecessarily, so she told them, "Oh, he's just very busy with the job interview. He's a few miles away so he might have to stay in a hotel overnight." She chewed her lip, hoping that she sounded convincing. "He didn't say much else."

Renee stared for a moment, then nodded. "He's so dedicated."

Bella resisted snorting.

She snapped out of her thoughts suddenly and wiped at the kitchen sink with more force than necessary. In the process of doing so, her ears suddenly picked up the sound of the front door opening and her teeth ground together as she heard several other doors opening and closing.

After a few moments, the kitchen door opened and standing there looking a little dishevelled and tired, with his hair sticking up in all kinds of different directions, was Edward. He met Bella's eyes and grinned widely, taking in the expression on her face. "What's up with you?"

Something in Bella exploded. "What's up with _me_?" She stormed over to him. "Me? I'm the one who's been left here all night with my parents who were wondering where the hell you were! Job interview?" She scoffed. "What bullshit! I know darn well what you were doing. You're just... just unbelievable!"

He raised his eyebrows lazily. "Jealous, are we?"

Bella's fists tightened. "Build a bridge and get over yourself. You're just a useless _turd_."

She moved over to the sink and began loudly washing some dishes, slamming them against the counter when she was finished.

"Watch it," Edward warned, "you might break something."

Bella didn't think. She just turned around and threw a random mug in Edward's direction. He ducked in shock, feeling the wind beside his left ear as it hurtled past him and smashed against the wall.

"Woah!" he exclaimed. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've never been like this before and I've done this millions of times."

"Not when my Mom and her boyfriend are here and you're supposed to be my fricking_ husband_!"

Edward edged over towards her slowly, not quite sure of what he was doing. _You must have a death wish, _he thought to himself. _Either that or you like a feisty woman. _"I knew you had a temper, but this is extreme," he said, standing beside her. "Look, I'm..."

"Don't waste your breath with those pathetic excuses, I don't want to hear them. I'm not making up a story for you when my parents ask, you'll just have to sort it out yourself."

"Where are they anyway?" he asked. "I thought they would have heard your eruption."

Bella's jaw clenched tightly. "I am _not_ a volcano. And good question, one which I do _not _know the answer to."

Edward registered the sound of people coming down the stairs and heading towards the kitchen. Bella didn't seem to notice because she was so preoccupied with the dishes and he didn't know quite why, but a sudden and outrageous idea popped into his mind. It was insane, he was aware of that, but in light of what had just happened, he needed to do it in order to keep some peace with her parents.

And so, just as Renee and Phil walked into the room exclaiming at the broken pieces of china on the floor, Edward twisted Bella around and pushed her against him, forcing her into a kiss.

Bella's eyes widened in pure shock and she fought underneath him, wondering what the _hell_ was going on. His lips were moving against hers, yet she was frozen and couldn't even think about moving; her brain was completely fuzzy.

She was vaguely aware of the fact that her mother and Phil were in the room with them but that didn't matter. First, she had to figure out what was going on in her head.

She hated to admit it, but somewhere deep down in her subconscious, there was a tiny bit of pleasure at what was happening. The overwhelming feeling was shock and hatred, but she couldn't ignore that niggling feeling which urged her to kiss back.

Just as she was losing the battle to move her lips against his, he pulled away breathlessly and turned to Renee, smoothing down his hair. "Good morning," he croaked. Bella just stood there motionlessly, trying to control her own breathing.

"Sorry, did we interrupt you two?"

Edward grinned widely. "No, no. We had a little disagreement, but it's fair to say we're made up now."

Bella's arms twitched, but she remained silent.

"Where were you last night, then?" Renee persisted. "We were waiting for you to get back. Did you get the job?"

"Well, this is what we were arguing about." He rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. "I didn't get the job and I was so disappointed with myself that I... well, I had a few too many drinks." Bella again resisted the urge to snort. "I knew Bella wouldn't approve of me coming back to the house in such a state, so I booked a hotel for the night and stayed there. I'm sorry if I caused any worry."

Renee smiled. "Oh, Edward, it's okay. That was very considerate of you. And sorry to hear about the job interview. There's always next time, though."

He returned the smile. "Optimistic as ever, Renee. Anyway, I think I'd better shower. I won't be long."

He excused himself and headed out the doors. A few seconds after he did that, Bella murmured, "Sorry, I just need to speak to him," and followed him out and up the stairs. Just when he had his hand on the door and was about to walk in, Bella tapped his shoulder. He turned around in curiosity and smirked. He then opened his mouth to say something but he was soon cut off when Bella's hand connected with his cheek, slapping him and producing a very nasty sound.

His own hand flew to his face and he winced in shock. "What the hell was that for?"

"What do you _think_ it was for?" Bella hissed. "Don't you _dare_ do that to me again."

"Do what?"

"Force yourself on me," she growled. "That was out of order. I should report you for sexual assault."

"It was to convince your parents that we aren't always arguing all the time!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Before he could reply, she stomped furiously down the stairs. He couldn't help smiling to himself as he stepped in the bathroom and into the shower. He hated to admit it to himself, but he had actually rather enjoyed that kiss too.

* * *

"He _kissed _you?"

Bella had to hold the phone away from her ear as her friend Rose took her time to laugh about her ordeal.

"Are you finished now?"

She was met by more shrieks and she sighed heavily, placing her head in her hands. This was just like the last time she'd confided in Rose and it had turned out to be just as disastrous and humiliating. Why wouldn't she just sympathise and realise how awful her situation was?

"Okay, okay, I think I'm done," Rose panted. "Why on earth did he do that?"

Bella explained all the events, cringing regularly during the process, and was left with a quiet moment while her friend thought it all through. She finally declared, "It seems strange to me."

"Strange?" Bella repeated. "That's an understatement." She paused. "I'm just scared it's all getting out of control."

"In what way, Bells?" she asked. "Unless... oh God, you didn't _like_ the kiss, did you? Please don't tell me you enjoyed it."

"Okay," Bella whispered quietly. "I won't tell you."

Rose blew out a long breath. "I don't see how I can help you."

"Well I'm sure it meant nothing," she said, trying to convince both her friend and herself. "He's just a jerk and I won't ever forget that. The so called 'kiss' will, from now on, be an unfortunate fact of life that I just have to accept."

"Like Alice Brandon?"

It was Bella's turn to sigh once more. "Yes, like her. But luckily I haven't seen her today."

"Things aren't all bad, then. Look, I've got to go. But if things ever get anymore crazy - if that's even possible - then I'm just a phonecall away."

She smiled. "Thanks Rose. Speak to you soon."

Bella hung up the phone and closed her eyes in despair. _Just think of all the stupid things Edward's done to you and dozens of other women... he's not worth worrying over. Less than six months now... you can do this._

She opened her eyes and looked ahead with a new found determination. Despite this, she knew that as soon as she got back home and caught sight of _him_, that determination would just crumble away.

In Edward's own words, it was all very ridiculous.

* * *

**Hope you liked that. Please leave a review if you possibly can - it'd make me stupidly happy.**


	6. Motherly Concern

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Six – Motherly Concern_

"For God's _sake_," Bella muttered under her breath, before storming out of the bathroom and hammering loudly on Edward's bedroom door. She heard a few groans and smiled, secretly pleased that she'd probably just woken him up; he deserved it after yesterday's little stunt.

After a few seconds, he staggered to the door and opened it. His eyes automatically widened as he saw Bella standing there in just her dressing gown with her arms folded and a fierce look on her face. She tried to ignore the fact that he was just wearing a pair of dark blue boxers and cleared her throat, ready for her rant.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't I told you several times about putting the toilet lid down after you've finished with it? I don't want to have to touch it, for crying out loud!"

He raised an eyebrow. "It might have been Phil."

"I know from experience that it was probably you." She shoved him lightly in the chest. "So _quit it_."

She turned away and headed back towards the bathroom, ready for her morning shower. Edward, meanwhile, shut his door and leapt back onto his bed, running his hands through his hair continuously. His mind was seriously messed up at that moment, he just couldn't understand it.

Last night he'd had several vivid dreams involving Bella herself and when he woke up, he knew something was definitely up, in more ways than one.

He hated her. Well, he _thought_ he did. Surely that emotion summed up their relationship – they argued, fought, grimaced at any given opportunity...

Perhaps hate was too strong of a word, though. He only hated a small selection of people and he knew deep down that Bella wasn't included. Maybe he just disliked her.

Or was it the complete opposite?

He sighed in frustration, flinging himself face first into his pillows. _Well done Cullen, _he thought to himself when he started to struggle with breathing. _This is really gonna help matters._

He quickly sat upright and gasped for a while, before finally deciding to get up. Bella's somewhat rude awakening hadn't really helped and now that his mind was properly active, he wouldn't be able to rest anyway. He carelessly gathered some clothes together - a day in front of the television didn't really require much fashion sense anyway - and trudged out into the hallway. Without thinking, he stopped outside the bathroom, knowing that Bella was showering right through those walls.

That thought did strange things to him.

He listened to a while at the sound of the water splashing against the tiles and the sound of Bella's muted singing suddenly hit him. A smirk crept onto his face as he heard her off-tune warbling - it reminded him of a cat screeching, or something along those lines. After a little while, the sprinkling of the water ended and he leaned against the door in amusement.

"Hey, Bella, word of advice - don't give up your day job."

He headed downstairs grinning to himself and, inside the bathroom, Bella fumbled around for the shampoo bottle which she'd just dropped from the shock. She could feel her cheeks flushing, and it wasn't just from the steam around her. Had he been hanging around outside _listening _to her showering? That was worrying...

After fumbling for a towel and padding across the room to the mirror, she began slowly putting on some make up, all the while being distracted by the thought of Edward staying outside while she showered.

_No_, she thought to herself, _he was just passing innocently by, heading towards the stairs_...

_But_, she countered, _he's never usually up this early. Maybe he was preoccupied with something..._

_Yeah_, she argued once more, _probably a girl._

She stopped then, realising that she was mentally debating with herself. _How lame_. _Just stop thinking about him, goddamit_!

The sight in the reflection made her jump; she'd been mindlessly over-applying some blusher and now looked worryingly like a clown. _How does Edward manage to irritate me when he's not even on the same floor as me? _she grimaced, shaking her head and starting over again.

After a bit more concentration, she finally finished and messily blow-dryed her hair, not really caring about straightening it - besides, it was the weekend and she had the day off. There was nobody she needed to look good for.

_Or was there?_

She cursed herself for thinking that but reached for the straighteners anyway - she didn't want Edward to make a comment about her head full of frizz.

_Since when did I care what he thought about my appearance?_

_Since after he kissed you, _she answered herself.

"For God's sake!" she hissed aloud, storming through into her room. As she did so, she heard the kettle boiling downstairs and wondered again why Edward was up so early - he never usually surfaced before 11am... but she had woken him up. Although-

_And again he's on my mind, _she shuddered. _He's like a bloody virus._

With that thought, she shut her door and began to get dressed.

* * *

"Morning," Edward said cheerfully when Bella finally walked into the kitchen. She didn't reply and he glanced up from his cereal to see her back to him. His eyes couldn't help moving downwards... she had a nice-

"What are you so happy about?" she snapped, before he had a chance to finish his thoughts. His eyes moved slowly upwards to meet hers and, not really much to his surprise, they were still angry-looking. Was he really pissing her off all the time? The novelty of that had worn off a little over the past few days... what he really want to see was her smiling or laughing.

That thought caught him off guard and he blinked rapidly, remembering that Bella was waiting for an answer.

"Your singing cheered me up," he replied. He wasn't trying to be mean, he was being honest - it had brought a smile to his lips.

"Oh really?" Bella snapped while buttering her toast. "I'm glad to hear that."

She breezily took a seat beside him and began eating her breakfast silently. Edward tried not to watch her, but he found his eyes travelling over in her direction several times; it was almost as though they were magnets - they regularly repelled each other, but could things go the other way for once?

He thought about this, but the more he considered it, the more it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. For starters, this so-called _marriage_ of theirs was a shamble and all they seemed to do was glare at each other. He honestly believed that if looks could kill he'd be stone-dead on the cold tiled floor.

But, on the other hand, he had to admit that Bella was very attractive and that the kiss between them had certainly been enjoyable, even if she had hit him afterwards... maybe she was angry that he'd provoked feelings she'd been trying to ignore?

"Hello? Are you deaf now?"

His eyes flickered to Bella's and he watched as she rolled hers. "Back with the land of the living now?"

"Did you say something?" he asked distractedly.

"_Yes_. I said that, seeing as we're all off today - although you're off all the time -" she added under her breath, "Mom and Phil are probably gonna want to do something."

He frowned. "Define 'something.'"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "Shopping, car trip, walk. Something like that."

"Oh," he pondered, strangely pleased by the idea. "Should be fun."

"Are you being sarcastic again?"

"No, I'm actually not. It'll be nice to have a change of scenary."

"Yeah. 'Cause you must be so bored of bedrooms by now."

He grinned, resisting the urge to laugh. "You're just jealous."

"Yeah," Bella replied with a snort. "I'm green with envy."

For some odd reason, she couldn't quite manage hiding the smirk that had suddenly crept onto her face so she turned away and drank some coffee. Her body was betraying her - these horrific feelings she was having were meant to be private...

Edward reached for an old magazine that was on the table and glanced up from underneath his eyelashes at Bella every now and then, watching her movements. He knew she'd been smiling at his comment a few moments ago, and it made him feel strangely... _good_.

"Reading women's magazines?" Bella commented, raising an eyebrow. "When did you have such an interest in those?"

"Ever since they started publishing articles about how to make women-"

He was interrupted by the door opening and Renee walked in, giving them both a wide smile. "Morning!"

"Morning Mom," Bella smiled.

"Phil wants breakfast in bed today so I'm just gonna whip a few things together." Edward saw Bella roll her eyes and he smiled to himself, oddly able to imagine what she would be thinking. "Oh, and we were thinking maybe you'd like to go out for a picnic today?"

Bella met Edward's eyes. "I had a funny feeling you were gonna suggest that. She tried not to sigh. "I guess I'm up for it."

"Me too," Edward added, unable to stop the grin that had found its way onto his face. "Should be fun."

"I suppose I'll be left to make the sandwiches," Bella muttered under her breath.

"No, I'll help," he offered, almost making her choke on her breakfast. "Can't expect you to do everything."

She laughed humorlessly while Renee finished gathering everything together on her tray. "Well, I'll see you both later. We were thinking of going around mid-day, so you might wanna make a start on the food."

A few seconds later she was gone, and Bella placed her head in her hands. "Thanks for offering, Mom," she mumbled.

"Have we got a picnic basket anywhere?" Edward asked, standing up and throwing the magazine aside. Bella looked up and frowned at him, trying not to dwell on the word _we._

"You seem keen," she commented.

He gave her a grin that made her heart behave strangely. "I love picnics."

She swallowed. "I'm guessing there's a dodgy explanation for that... but yeah, there's one upstairs in the messy room, I think. You'll have to rummage around, if you dare."

"If I don't come back within ten minutes, please come and help me," he said with a laugh and Bella surprised them both by laughing too. When he disappeared out the door, though, she placed her head back in her hands, wondering what on _earth_ was going on in her head.

* * *

"Do you like cheese?"

Bella met Edward's eyes for a brief moment, before shaking her head. "No, it makes me do funny things."

He simply raised an eyebrow, a silent gesture to make her explain what she meant.

"I had some before and it just made me completely insane," she told him, widening her eyes as she recalled the embarrassing memory. "I ended up falling down some stairs."

"Oh," he said slowly. "So is that the_ real_ reason why you broke your foot before?"

She nodded in shame while he laughed. "You told me-"

"I told you I fell down the stairs, and that was true," she interrupted. "You just didn't know the other minor details."

A smirk crept onto his face and he was unable to deny anymore that he really did amuse her sometimes. Sure, most of the time they argued, but when they got on, thet got on _really_ well... he looked down at her as she concentrated on cutting the cucumbers and saw the way her tongue poked out a little in concentration. He also saw how the large knife she was holding seemed to be wobbling and he quickly removed it from her.

"Bella, you're gonna hurt yourself. Have you never handled a knife before?"

"I've been tempted to in the past," she mumbled quietly. "But no, I'm a knife virgin. Well, a large and sharp knife virgin."

He snorted loudly. "Here, I'll show you how to do it." He handed her back the knife and placed his hand over hers. "Now, you carefully do it like this..." He pushed her hand down and a small slice of cucumber dropped to the chopping board. Bella couldn't help noticing how close he was, and how his breath was hot on her neck. His hands were warm too, and she grumbled at her body's reaction when he touched her.

"Now you try," he said softly.

She did so and the knife slipped away from the cucumber's surface, nearly cutting her finger. Edward blew out a long breath. "I think I'll do the knife handling from now on."

"Thank you," she said bitterly.

Bella then turned her attention to some buttering and they stood there in silence, both thinking to themselves.

"Bel-"

"Hang on, I'm just gonna fetch something from the shop, we haven't got any crisps. I won't be long..."

And before he could even close his mouth, she had disappeared out the door and he sighed loudly in frustration. He'd_ just_ plucked up the courage to ask her a serious question, yet all she had done was sprint out the room as fast as she could.

"Women," he grumbled, going back to the food.

* * *

"Here we are!" Renee announced, stopping the car in front of a large field packed with people out to savour the weather. To everyone's surprise, it was unusually sunny in Forks and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to have their picnic. Bella's mother beamed with happiness. "This'll be great, won't it?"

Edward smiled widely. "Very."

They both stepped outside and quickly found a nice spot underneath a large oak tree. Phil laid down the checked cloth and they all sat down, wiggling around to get comfortable. Renee started unpacking the food and, while she was doing so, Edward crept his arm around Bella's waist. She naturally jumped and shot him a glare, which her mother just happened to see. However, instead of saying something, she carried on with her task by setting out the sandwiches, keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Quit doing that," Bella hissed under her breath, so discretely that nobody apart from Edward noticed.

"We're supposed to be married," he replied, shaking his head. "You're not a very good actress."

"Maybe that's because I'm completely fed up with you!"

She'd said that louder than she intended and both Renee and Phil glanced over at her. _Crap, _she thought to herself.

"I was just kidding," she quickly stammered. "He just gets on my nerves sometimes."

Edward laughed nervously. "Yeah... you know what I'm like."

Renee gave her daughter a long look before holding out a sandwich. "Here you go Bells."

Bella took the sandwich silently and stared up at the sky, once again wondering why the hell she'd bothered making up this ridiculous situation. She hated putting on a false pretence, but that wasn't the worst part - this whole experience was encouraging feelings to surface that she'd been desperately trying to ignore before.

"Here Bella, have another sandwich."

She glanced up to see Edward holding out the food towards her and she felt her anger boil over when she noticed that the food was full of cheese.

"For God's sake Edward!" she snapped, not caring anymore what her parents thought. She was feeling more irritated than usual and couldn't stop herself. "I told you I didn't like cheese! Are you losing your bloody memory?"

He gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head, standing up and heading towards the car. "I'm sorry, Mom, I don't think I can last the afternoon with him today. He's just really driving me mad. The car journey was enough, but now..." She shook her head, recalling how he'd been constantly trying to sit close to her and teasing her all the way. She should have hated it, but the only thing she hated was how it made her feel.

And with that, she left Edward alone there with her Mom and Phil. He hesitated awkwardly for a while, watching Bella walking away, and he wondered what on earth she was doing. Was she just_ trying_ to blow their cover?

"Um, I'd better go and see what's wrong," he told them, trying not to focus on their shocked faces. "I won't be long."

He quickly leapt up and almost immediately heard some murmuring as he left them behind. _This is going swimmingly, _he thought bitterly.

"Bella? Bella!"

She stopped striding ahead and turned around resignedly, meeting Edward with a sour face.

"Don't give me a lecture about all this anymore because I really don't think I can take it," she sighed, looking so defeated that it made a strange feeling emerge in Edward's stomach. Was he _really_ that bad? But they'd been getting on a bit better lately...

He told her this and she just scoffed.

"We _never_ get on. You just end up taking the piss at any given opportunity. I'm gonna tell them as soon as we get home about what's really going on. I'm sorry, but this... this was never gonna work."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you scared or something?"

"Scared about what?"

"Scared that this whole experience has made you realise something...? Something you've been trying to ignore?"

Her heart skipped a few beats. Surely he couldn't know...? She faltered for a second but quickly regained her composure. _Deny everything_. "I don't know what you mean. Finish your damn picnic, I'll wait in the car."

Before he could reply, she slammed the door behind him and turned on the radio as loud as possible to drown out her thoughts.

"Keeps getting better," he muttered bitterly.

* * *

As soon as they got home, Bella started to panic. Sure, she'd told Edward what she intended to do, yet now it seemed a bit of a bad idea. Her parents would probably hate her for lying and then they'd disappear without a trace again...

Edward glanced over at her a little later when they were sat down together in the lounge, suspicious that she was beginning to change her mind. He watched as she bit her lip, apparently deep in thought. He hated to admit it, but he didn't want her to tell Renee and Phil. This had been an interesting experience so far, and it definitely had a lot more to offer...

_Shit_, he was enjoying Bella being his wife? What the hell did _that_ mean?

"Bella, Edward? Would you mind if we talked to you both for a minute?"

Renee's voice coming from the doorway made the pair jump and they both looked towards her with question marks on their faces.

"It won't take long," she continued, taking a seat on the sofa opposite with Phil tagging along behind her. Bella could tell he was feeling awkward; he kept looking around and seeming as though he wanted to be anyplace else than here. She knew the feeling. _Come on, you've got to tell them, _she urged herself.

"Is something wrong?" Edward asked, sitting forwards and placing an arm around Bella. Her first reaction was to shudder, but it was quickly replaced by the urge to savour the warmth coming from his touch. _Even more reason to tell them the truth..._

"Well..." Renee trailed off, mimicking Edward's actions by leaning forwards. "We've noticed that you two seem to be arguing a lot lately."

Bella resisted a snort - her mother had just delivered the greatest understatement of the century. "It's natural, Mom," she found herself saying. _Why wasn't she admitting the truth? _"We just disagree over stuff."

Edward glanced at her in relief - she didn't _appear_ to have any intention of confessing anymore.

"That's the thing, though," Renee continued. "You seem to disagree more than you show love towards each other." Bella's heart hammered frantically - had her mother worked out that the marriage wasn't real? That would be worse than her admitting the truth...

"We're just worried for you," she continued. "Your relationship seems very... volatile. And earlier today confirmed that."

Neither Edward or Bella had anything to say to that, so Renee carried on. "We didn't really want to get too involved, but we didn't want your marriage to fail so... so we've booked you some marriage counselling sessions over the phone. Now-"

At this point, Edward and Bella both started to protest, clearly in disbelief. "Mom, that's _really_ not necessary."

"Yeah!" Edward added frantically. "We love each other, really."

"I know you might say that, but they've already been booked now and they were incredibly expensive, so you can't say no." Bella's mouth dropped open in horror. "We're just thinking about you and this really is for your own good."

Bella sighed - _something _else_ to put up with._ She should have never come up with this stupid idea in the first place and now her Mom had wasted her money on something that didn't even apply for her...

"We do appreciate your kindness," Edward said, giving her a charming smile. "But is there any way you can get a refund? I mean we-"

"No, he doesn't do refunds."

_Fantastic, _Bella grimaced mentally. This day had just got even worse and she hadn't even thought that to be possible.

"When's the first one?" Edward asked after a while.

"This Monday."

Bella's mouth dropped open. "Blimey Mom, that's only a few days away!"

"Exactly. You'll get your marriage sorted for definite then." She looked at her tenderly, trying to convey that she wanted to help. "I'm just concerned, love. We've got your best interests at heart."

Bella sighed, accepting now that she was unable to do anything. "Okay. Okay."

"Thanks, love." They headed slowly towards the door. "We'll just... leave you alone for now."

They both nodded stiffly, still a little shocked. Once the door closed, Edward ran his hands down her face and stared up at the ceiling. "Typical of you to have such caring parents."

"Caring?" she repeated. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

He sighed. "Are we gonna go?"

"I guess we have to. The counsellor will just tell Mom if we don't. Although maybe we could just tell her we're not married anyway..."

"I was thinking that maybe the counselling would be a good idea..." She looked at him incredulously as though he'd just grown another head. "No, I mean for our relationship. Maybe he'll help us get along a bit better. It could be advantageous in the long run..."

Bella thought this through; he had a good point...

"Okay," she said, accepting defeat. "Marriage counselling it is."

He couldn't help laughing. "Well, I never saw this coming when I agreed to this crazy idea."

Bella met his eyes briefly. "You're not the only one, believe me."

* * *

**I apologise for the late update - the main reason is a stupidly addictive game called bubble shooter that seemed to dominate my attention. **

**Anywho, the updates will be regular from now on as this is my only story on the go at the moment... I hope you enjoyed the update and just to say I have 10/11 chapters planned as this was never gonna be a long story. So yeah. Ramble over... please leave some feedback if you possibly could! Thank yooou!**


	7. Realisations

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Seven – Realisations_

"Do you think this is the place?"

Bella glanced over at Edward as he stopped the truck outside a large building. "Well the fact that there's a rather large sign saying 'Eric Yorkie's Marriage Counselling' may be a _slight_ giveaway, but I dunno, we might have taken the wrong turning..."

He cut off the engine and gave her a stern look. "No need for the sarcasm."

"I wasn't being sarcastic, I was merely stating the obvious."

They sat back in their seats for a long time, neither of them wanting to move or even say anything. Bella had been silent for most of the previous day, mainly as a way of protest, and she was still in disbelief about what her mother had done - she just _always_ had to interfere when she least wanted her to.

Out of curiosity, she'd actually Googled the counsellor that Renee had contacted and nearly had a heart attack after noting the prices he charged per hour.

"We might as well just get it over with," Edward eventually said, stepping outside. "No use prolonging the inevitable."

"Ooh, get you with your fancy words," Bella muttered, reluctantly joining him. "But, sadly, you're right."

"As always."

"Now there wasn't really any need for that comment, Edward, I-"

"Hey, let's just try not to argue too much today, yeah?" he interrupted, holding up his hands in a gesture which looked like a surrender. "Then maybe this Yorkie guy will see that we don't _really_ need this counselling, and then we can all go home and be happy."

"Happy? We've still got another five months left to pretend."

He sighed. "Reasonably happy, then." _Even though it would suit me just fine, _he added silently.

They both headed inside and were immediately greeted by a middle aged lady with jet black hair behind the reception area. She had large blue rimmed glasses and bright red lipstick; Edward was just about to make a comment to Bella when she suddenly looked up and greeted them both with a warm smile.

"Hello there! My name's Mary... have you got an appointment booked?"

"Yes, we have. It's Edward Cullen and Bella Sw-" she trailed off. "Um, I mean, it's Mr and Mrs Cullen."

The woman squinted at her computer for a few moments. "Ah yes, the Cullens. Please take a seat over there, Mr Yorkie will be with you shortly."

"Thank you," Edward said, giving her a charming smile.

"You just really can't resist anything with legs and boobs, can you?"

He blinked at Bella's random outburst that she'd hissed into his ear. "Sorry?"

"You were flirting with what's-her-name. Mary, that's it."

"I _smiled_ at her..." he said slowly, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"For _you_, that's flirting."

"Oh for God's sake," he muttered under his breath. "Can't we just get along for a few minutes? You're getting worse lately... I've been on my best behaviour, while you're just blowing everything out of proportion."

Bella thought about his words; perhaps she _was_ being extra moody lately. She was just frustrated about her fastly growing feelings that seemed to dominate her mind whenever she met his annoyingly piercing green eyes.

"I have no comment for that," she eventually managed.

"Mr and Mrs Cullen?"

A new voice greeted them and standing by an open door was a tall man in a pressed blue suit and a yellow tie. He had pale skin with shoulder length black hair and oddly friendly eyes. Bella found herself immediately smiling at him as he greeted them both. "Now who's flirting?" Edward muttered out of the corner of his mouth, earning a painful nudge in the ribs. He honestly believed he'd end up with permanent bruising if Bella didn't stop.

"If you'd like to follow me..." the counsellor said in a quiet voice, stretching out his arm in the direction of the door.

After receiving an encouraging set of thumbs up from Mary, they all started walking down a long corridor, struggling to keep up with Eric's quick pace. Despite this, they eventually reached a door and entered a small room.

Inside, there was a glass desk in the corner of the room with papers stacked high and a laptop that Edward immediately stared at in longing; he was busy guessing the sort of speed it would work at while Bella stood in awe at the furniture. The carpet was a luxurious red that you could only expect at a rich person's house and there were two dark leather sofas placed opposite each other in the centre of the room. Glancing upwards, she saw two large lights that almost looked like chandeliers and also noted some beautiful paintings on the walls.

_Blimey, this man really knows how to make someone jealous..._

"This is wonderful," she said aloud, almost stumbling into a table with a vase full of tulips on top. Edward stopped her before she did, taking his thoughts away from the megabytes and other confusing technical terms.

"Careful," he murmured, leaving his hands hovering on her waist. She met his eyes and he quickly removed them. The counsellor observed this silently from their side.

"Please, take a seat, I want you to be comfortable," he said. "And thank you, Mrs Cullen. I take pride in making this place as magnificent as possible."

She laughed. "You've certainly done that. It makes our flat look incredibly pathetic."

"That was never my intention, of course." He watched how they both sat down, leaving each other plenty of room, and quickly grabbed some paper and a pen to make some notes. He was writing furiously while his clients watched nervously, wondering what he made of their relationship. _Can he see through us? _Bella worried to herself. _It must be blindingly obvious to somebody like him..._

Instead of this, she was surprised when he suddenly announced, "Now there's no use wasting any time here, so let's get straight into it."

_Yeah_, Edward thought bitterly, _Renee wouldn't be too happy seeing time going to waste when she's paying for this shit..._

"So, what seems to be the problem between you two?" They both looked at him blankly, at a loss of where to start. "To be more specific, what prompted you to seek this marriage counselling?"

"It was never _our _idea," Bella said slowly, sitting upright and folding her arms. "My mother noticed that we argue a lot." She met Edward's eyes and he nodded, prompting her to continue. "We do disagree and, uh, tend to clash regularly."

"And why do you think that is?" Eric asked, crossing his legs and propping up his clipboard.

"It's just... Edward does things which always seem to irritate me, like making little comments, for example." Bella spoke quickly as the words easily flowed from her; the built up frustration was being released and she enjoyed sharing her problems. "It feels as though he deliberately does it each time, just to bug me."

The counsellor turned to Edward. "Do you?"

He shook his head and Bella scoffed. "Well you _would_ say that, wouldn't you?" she retorted. "You never accept the blame with anything."

"Bella, I don't do it to annoy you," he said honestly. "It just seems as though you get irritated by every tiny thing."

"What do you mean by 'tiny thing,' Edward?" Eric asked.

"Leaving the toilet lid up," he replied, struggling not to smile at how stupid it sounded. "I did that the other day and Bella went rambo."

"I did not go _rambo_," she countered. "It's just disgusting... I don't want to handle the goddamn thing! It's full of germs and-"

"Yes, you've told me this before."

They both trailed off and Eric chewed on his pen for a few moments, thinking to himself. "It seems to me," he said slowly, "as though you really do have genuine feelings towards each other. That's obvious, seeing as you are married, but you may not know how strong your feelings are. For instance, as you were arguing, you both edged your bodies towards each other unconsciously." They both noticed this and quickly swivelled around.

"That's because we were arguing," Bella said. "I wanted to enforce my point."

The counsellor just raised his eyebrows. "You seem to be determined to enforce how much you're angered by your partner; it almost feels as though you're... trying to deny something. Do you know what that might be?"

Bella was taken aback - was it _that_ obvious? "Sorry, I d-don't know what you mean."

"Hmm," he replied, turning towards Edward. "I noticed earlier that Mrs Cullen seemed angered by you when you placed your hands on her waist to steady her. Could there be any reason for that?"

Edward frowned. "Are you implying something?"

"No, no. I'm just looking for a reason. Mrs Cullen, why did you react in such a way? Don't you like physical contact?"

She felt pressured as the eyes once again set on her. "Uh... I'm not s-sure. I-"

"Have you had any experiences in the past that might have encouraged your dislike of that type of contact?"

Bella wanted to sigh out loud; he had the _complete_ wrong end of the stick here and she didn't have any idea how to tell him otherwise. He probably now thought she had been abused in the past, yet that was certainly not the case. "No, I most definitely haven't. I don't know why I reacted like I did, it's just something that happens by instinct, I guess."

"Instinct?" he repeated dubiously. "Were you like this originally or has this reaction developed over time?"

She hated being so interrogated, almost as though she was some kind of criminal, but calmly replied, "It's developed lately as we started arguing." That was a complete lie, they both knew that, but she had to say _something_...

"Okay." The counsellor turned back to Edward, and Bella breathed a tiny sigh of relief; the focus was off her for a little while, at least. "Mr Cullen, what first attracted you to your wife?"

_Crap, _Bella thought. _Really bad question... he's probably gonna say something ridiculous._

Edward took a while to answer, opening and closing his mouth several times as though he was deliberating something.

"She was... incredibly attractive, I guess. She still is. Her... her eyes really stood out for me... I don't know why, they just did," he shrugged, feeling his face flame a little. _You've really put your foot in it this time. Well done, Cullen. Why didn't you say something else? _"I mean, that and her personality, of course," he rambled, unable to stop himself. "She was very sarcastic and fun, which I liked."

He swallowed loudly while Bella stared at the floor, completely shocked; she'd expected him to make a comment about her boobs or something else equally stupid. "Basically, since I first saw her, I knew she was something special."

In that moment, he knew he was being fully truthful. When they first met at that interview, he was overwhelmed - so much so that he could barely concentrate and he made himself sound like someone completely different. He hated doing it but he had no control over his actions - it just happened.

A sudden thought struck him; was Bella the reason why he got through so many women? Was he trying to substitute-

"Mr Cullen?"

He blinked, realising that the counsellor had been trying to say something to him. "Sorry, can you repeat that?"

"I was asking you what you think first sparked the arguing?"

"I genuinely don't know," he replied, running a hand through his hair. Bella watched him doing so, seeing how the strands of his bronze hair stood up messily on end. She was so confused; had Edward meant those words? When he was speaking, his expression had turned strangely soft and it made her stomach turn oddly light. Then again, knowing_ him_, he was probably messing her around.

Eric looked to be deep in thought for a moment. "I'm going to tell you what I think and you need to consider this."

Edward and Bella felt instantly anxious, but both nodded in anticipation.

"I don't think you really need this marriage counselling. My thoughts are that there's been a _small_ underlying issue, perhaps a disagreement or something, and it's made you angry towards each other for a long time. It's clear to anybody that you both have feelings towards one another, yet you're ruining your relationship by arguing. It seems to have affected you both, mostly Mrs Cullen because of her dislike of contact and clear anger towards you, Mr Cullen. It's made you very bitter."

Bella chewed on her lip in fear - this counsellor was extremely observant; he was practically getting _everything_ right.

And it terrified her.

She was scared of getting closer to Edward; it was a long shot, but perhaps he shared her frustrated feelings of attraction and that was why they clashed, not because they hated each other. Maybe they were just both worried about what could happen, about who would get hurt if they became a couple.

It was all a mess.

"You need to forgive each other and persist in your relationship, because I can sense that it was probably very strong before. When you realise your feelings towards one another, then I think you'll also realise that the tiny things you disagreed over were just, in all, very petty and insignificant. Just remember how you felt when you first met." He paused to smile for the first time. "You don't need me."

They both stared ahead in disbelief; this man, no, this _stranger_ had just brought thoughts and feelings that they'd both been trying to ignore right to the surface.

"Um, t-thank you, Mr Yorkie," Bella eventually managed. "Is that it?"

He laughed. "Yes. I'll allow a refund, seeing as you only needed half a session. Perhaps your mother was mis-informed when she contacted me. She probably didn't see your relationship from a true perspective."

"Yeah," Edward replied quietly. "You could say that."

They both met eyes for a brief moment before quickly standing up. "Thank you for your time," Bella said.

"No problem."

The pair walked down the corridor silently, the only sound being Bella's heels against the laminate flooring. Edward rubbed his forehead several times, wondering what on earth he could do to ease the clear awkwardness between them, while Bella was replaying the whole session in her own head.

_She was incredibly attractive. Basically, since I first saw her I knew she was something special._

"Edward? Did you m-mean what you said or are you just being a jerk?"

She spoke just as they stepped outside and he froze, turning to face her. "What did I say?"

"You know what I mean. About... about me being attractive?" She winced while saying it, knowing this was probably leading towards more humiliation.

He remained still, deliberating what to say. Truth or denial? The easy option or the right option...?

"Yes," he finally managed, staring at his shoes as he kicked at the floor. "I meant it. I meant every stupid thing I said."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "You're messing me around again, aren't you?"

He met her with hard eyes. "Bella, I've never been more serious."

The look on his face scared her, yet also thrilled her at the same time. "But-"

"Bella, I know I've messed around with hundreds of women ever since I moved into your place but the truth is... I..." He tugged at his earlobe anxiously. "I was trying to make up for not having you but using them. It sounds awful, but I've realised now that that's the real reason. It sucks."

She stared at him wordlessly.

"I know I irritate you and that I've probably made everything one hundred times worse, so... maybe I'll just move out. I'll explain everything to your parents and-"

He was cut off by the feeling of Bella's hands gripping onto his coat collar. She pulled her face within inches of his before murmuring, "It doesn't suck."

Then, she pressed her lips hungrily against his and kissed him with all the energy she could manage. All her worries and frustrations were let out in the open as he kissed her back and pulled her closer by weaving his hands around and onto her back.

They couldn't deny anything now, and Edward moaned against her mouth in contentment. He never believed this would really happen - he'd only ever imagined it - but now... well this was better than anything he could ever have fantastised about.

Bella ran her fingers through Edward's hair, something she'd ashamedly wanted to do for a long time, and she felt the slight moistness in it from the light drizzle of rain. His hands were exploring her back, pressing against the soft fabric covering her skin.

_God, it's never been like_ this_ before, _he thought to himself when Bella began lightly tugging at his hair.

_Crumbs, what would Rose think about this? _she pondered, before quickly realising that she didn't particularly care.

Eventually, they pulled apart and Bella leant against Edward's forehead, breathing heavily. "You'd better have meant that," she murmured, making a low chuckle rumble in his throat.

"Believe me," he gasped, meeting her eyes, "I did."

Back in his office window, Eric Yorkie watched the pair retreat to their truck and smiled to himself. "Job done."

* * *

**Hurrah! I didn't want to put it off any longer - it gets boring writing about them not realising they're meant for eachother :P Hope you liked it!**


	8. Second Chances

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Eight – Second Chances_

"What now?"

Edward glanced over at Bella after she asked the question and smiled at her. "We go on as normal, I guess. Pretending to be married should be a whole lot easier now, though."

She smiled back, alarmed by how natural it felt. The past few minutes had all been a strange blur to her and, sitting in their truck ready to go home, she had a chance to think everything through slowly. They'd _kissed_ and she'd loved it... did that mean they were a real couple now? Would he mess her around like all the other women he seemed to get through as easily as she got through chocolate bars? Would he-

"You should stop chewing your lip, Bella," he teased. "Is that a habit of yours?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "I do it when I'm thinking. More so when I'm thinking about chocolate."

A small smirk appeared on his face. "Besides_ that_, what were you thinking about this time?"

She glanced at him tentatively. "About us. I mean, if we'll work."

His eyes widened. "You're not backing out now, are you? Giving me false hope..."

"No, no," she said quickly. "I just... well, it sounds selfish, but I... I don't want to get hurt."

He reached over to grab her hand and stroked it gently with his thumb; the gesture was both comforting and careful. "Bella, those days are over now. I told you, I only did it because I wanted you." He paused to grin bashfully. "Do you just like making me repeat that?"

"It _is_ quite nice to hear, now that you mention it..."

"Well it's true, now stop dragging it out." He leaned over to give her a quick kiss and pulled apart reluctantly. "So, what are we gonna tell your parents?"

"We'll just tell them what he told us, that we don't really need the counselling." She started the engine. "And we'll have to resist shouting the words 'told you so' at the top of our voice as soon as we walk through the door."

He smirked, watching Bella smile as she did; she was beautiful - how the hell was he so lucky? "I'll try my best."

* * *

"We're back!"

Renee and Phil looked up from the television in alarm to see Edward and Bella walking into the room, hand in hand. They both looked incredibly happy, almost smug, but that didn't stop Renee checking her watch and shaking it madly.

"Is it broken?" she frowned, watching the hands ticking away. "That was definitely not an hour!"

"Yeah, we know. The counsellor actually realised that we didn't need his help, so he let us go early. Don't worry," Bella continued when her mother opened her mouth to protest. "He said he'll give you a refund, so you might want to check your savings account soon to check if he has done."

Phil frowned. "So he just told you that you didn't need his counselling?"

"That's what I said," Bella reply slowly.

"Yeah, that's what she said," Edward added, snorting to himself. It didn't really apply in the normal way, but nobody seemed to understand his joke and he sighed to himself. "I'm a wasted talent."

"But you were arguing a lot," Renee pointed out, more-or-less completely ignoring him. "Surely you need his help?"

"Do you want to phone him up and check?" Bella said, feeling a little exasperated; this stupid idea was over now and she wanted to put it behind her.

"No, no, I guess I believe you," she sighed. "But-"

"All couples argue from time to time, Mom."

"Yeah. Anyway, please excuse us," Edward suddenly said, reaching down to grip Bella's hand which was clenched by her side. She glanced up at him in surprise and waited for what he was going to say. "Bella and I are going upstairs now so... um, yeah. That's everything we had to tell you."

Bella raised her eyebrows at him and he just winked, something that made goosebumps trail along her arms.

"Well, just to let you know, we're going out for a while so we, uh, won't disturb you," Renee said hurriedly, her cheeks flushing as she turned away. "Have fun."

"Oh, where are you going?" Bella asked, resisting Edward who was impatiently tugging her towards the door.

"We fancied a meal out and a few drinks," Phil answered. "We won't be back till past midnight."

"Good," Edward said. "Have a nice time."

Before Bella could say another word, he pulled her outside and they both laughed, hurrying up the stairs.

* * *

"So... why were you so keen to drag me up here?" Bella asked quietly, sitting on the edge of Edward's bed. He joined her, the mattress sinking a little under his weight. The fact that Bella was in his_ room_ on his _bed_ was doing strange things to him and he awkwardly crossed his legs, knowing it probably wasn't the time for _that_. Not yet, anyway...

"I thought you might have wanted some privacy or something," he answered, cringing to himself - he sounded ridiculously guilty.

"And your bedroom is the right place is it?" she replied, grinning at him.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," he said with a nervous laugh.

"Okay. So what are we gonna do now?"

"Um... I dunno," he shrugged, scatching the back of his neck anxiously. "We could... sleep?"

"At 4 in the afternoon?" she laughed. "'Cause_ that's_ normal."

"Well, that's what beds are usually for," he replied. "Amongst various... _other _things."

She turned slowly towards him, biting her lip. "And what are those various other things?"

_Holy crap, she's not suggesting-_

"Well, you can, um, lie down and read a book, or... or listen to some music... or maybe-"

"That sounds nice," Bella smiled, enjoying the way he became all flustered. "Put some music on."

He did so and, while he fiddled with his iPod, Bella wriggled backwards onto the pillow, making herself comfortable. Seeing her lying down like that in a skirt when he turned back around was almost too much for Edward, but he focused on the music playing softly from the speakers. He hurriedly sat down beside Bella and propped himself up with his elbow.

"How long did you say your parents would be gone for?"

Bella's eyes widened at Edward's random question. "Um, probably until late this night." He nodded thoughtfully. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he lied.

"Y'know, I've spotted signs of when you're telling fibs. Firstly, your thumbs twitch and secondly, you tend to lick your lips."

"Have you been staring in the past, then?"

"No," Bella replied. "That just means you've been _lying_ a lot in the past."

He laughed, a sound that rumbled in his chest. "If you help me, I'll try to turn over a new leaf."

"Help you? Gee, not much to ask, then!"

Another grin crept onto his face and Bella watched as his face moved and seemed to become younger as the amusement danced on his features. She felt strangely content knowing that she was the reason for this.

"Hey," she suddenly said, turning back on her side to face him. "I was just thinking... we were too busy arguing before to really get to know each other. Maybe we could sort of... I dunno, find out some stuff."

"Stuff," he repeated. "Okay. How would we do it though?"

"Well we could just ask each other a question at a time." She met his eyes. "Sorry, is this silly? I just thought..."

He cut her off. "No, it's really not. Right, I have one for you. Did you go to University and, if you did, what did you study?"

"I studied English Literature. I thought it'd be good, but then realised I couldn't really go anywhere with the degree... I didn't want to be a teacher and didn't have the patience to write a book or anything. So I just sort of ended up working in an office and here I am."

"Maybe you'll write a book one day... inspiration could strike soon," he offered.

"We'll see. I never knew you were an optimist. Anyway, now for your question... well, I think I'll steal your one, actually."

He scratched at the back of his head awkwardly. "I've had this conversation with your mother before and had to, uh, edit out a few things."

She just raised her eyebrows and waited.

"Well I studied Physics, mainly because there was nothing else that interested me, and then... well, I had that trouble with the police."

"What exactly did you do?" she asked. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I just-"

"It's fine. After my Mom died I became a little depressed, mostly because I didn't seem to have anybody else around. I wasn't very good at making friends and just spent most of my nights out drinking by myself, spending the money she'd left through inheritance. Then one night, when I was _fairly_ intoxicated," he grinned a little anxiously, "I stole a car. It was really, _really_ stupid of me and I crashed the thing pretty badly. Left a metal pretzel around a tree. I was lucky to survive, really, but I was in hospital for a few weeks and then straight to prison to find out what would happen to me. They gave me one year. It was horrific."

He paused, staring at his hands in fear; was he scaring Bella off now?

"When I got out, I was determined to be a new person, which sort of went wrong, but I went flat hunting and..." He looked up to meet her eyes tentatively. "Then I met you."

She smiled a little. "It's good that you've changed. We all make mistakes, after all. And I'm sorry about your Mom... are you okay about it now?"

"I think about her everyday, but the pain's faded. She just... died suddenly and it was a bit tough. But thank you." He kissed her quickly, running his fingers through her soft hair, before pulling apart and thinking to himself. The way that Bella had just accepted his mistakes was heart-warming and he finally had somebody to share his pain with. That thought prompted his next question. "How did it feel when your parents left you?"

His voice was soft but she still winced thinking back to it; she'd been very lonely and longed for their phonecalls every week, something which didn't happen. "It was painful at first, but I guess I just got used to it, like everyone does. I had my friends at work to keep me distracted and then I met you, which was _certainly_ a large distraction."

"Did they ever offer to take you with them?"

She shook her head. "They waited until I was eighteen and then persuaded me that I wouldn't want to go with them. 'We'll be all romantic and it'd probably put you off,' was what my Mom said." Edward thought the way she imitated her mother's voice sounded a little bitter, but he kept this to himself.

"But why have you just taken them in now for six months, even after all they've done?"

"I... I didn't really have any choice. But I hoped it'd give me a chance to forgive them... that hasn't really happened yet, but there's always time."

Edward nodded, making a mental note to himself to talk to Renee about apologising sometime soon; it angered him that they'd abandoned Bella and then just expected her to welcome them back into her life. It was a bit cruel and he hated to think of Bella being hurt, but he respected how she was so willing to give them a second chance. It was the same with him.

"Now, your question." He was brought out of his thoughts by her quiet voice. "How about something a bit more lighthearted?"

"That sounds good," he answered with a grin.

"What do you like doing?" she asked. "Apart from eating pizza, watching TV and sleeping with people?"

He grinned at her comment and the fact that they were both lying in a bed at that very moment came to the front of his mind. _Think innocent thoughts! _he pleaded with himself. "Uh... I like m-music and, er... reading?"

"Is there something wrong?" she asked suddenly, eyeing him carefully. "You don't sound very sure about yourself..."

"Everything's fine," he replied, pleased by how steady his voice sounded. "My turn. Have you ever had any boyfriends before?"

Bella's eyes widened. _Crap, why did he have to ask something like this? _"I thought we were having lighthearted questions!" She paused nervously. "Um, well I have, but they've all just been wastes of space so far. There was Mike, who was a twat, and Jacob, who was an even bigger twat. So yeah, there you go. A grand total of two lame partners. I don't think I should ask you, you've probably lost count."

He smiled briefly. "I don't really count them as girlfriends or partners or whatever. Like I said, in school I didn't really want to talk to anybody, so I was a loner through those years. But hey, things are looking up now."

"They are," she agreed and she leaned closer to press her lips onto his once more. He moved closer towards her too, placing his hands longingly on her slim back. The familiar tingle erupted as their bodies touched and Edward relished in her beautiful floral scent and the softness of her hair; he believed he'd probably never tire of the feeling. Bella gasped as the kiss deepened and the intensity of the experience made her shiver.

She was shocked at how different things had become; it had all happened so _easily_. Before they angered each other beyond belief, yet now the feelings between them were incredibly powerful; it had all happened in less than a day.

They pulled away after a long time, both gasping and short for breath, and Edward leaned against her smooth forehead. "Bella?" he murmured.

"Y-yeah?" she whispered, looking up to meet his eyes. She'd never seen them so close before and their bright colour never ceased to amaze her.

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk before. I must have really caused you some stress."

Her eyes widened involuntarily - _shit, he hasn't seen my stress diary has he? If he has-_

"Bella? Bella, is something wrong?"

_Sounds like he hasn't... phe-ew._

"Nothing," she eventually replied. "I was just surprised. I never thought I'd hear you apologise in my lifetime."

He chuckled. "Believe me, I planned to before, but could never seem to word it right."

She felt herself staring at him as she thought - she'd obviously judged his character wrongly before; he was really just a sensitive person who'd had troubles in his past and needed somebody to stay with him. That and a tendency to be a little rude sometimes, but that happened to everyone.

"Aren't you in a bit of a pain at the moment?"

He frowned at her but soon flushed in embarrassment when Bella's eyes averted to his crotch. "Oh, that," he murmured. "Uh-"

"Maybe we could do something about it?"

He nearly choked in surprise when she said this - surely she wasn't suggesting...?

"B-Bella, are you sure?" he stammered. "I mean, isn't it too soon? We've only really been together for less than a day..."

"Oh," her face dropped. "You don't want to?"

"No, no," he replied quickly. "Believe me, I really do, I just didn't want to rush or force you into anything."

"And believe me, you're not. Besides, it's been practically a year that we've been..." she paused. "Denying feelings."

"What?" he asked in shock. "You... you wanted-"

She just nodded and he decided not to wait anymore. Smiling at her, he moved over to kiss her once more and it felt so right that he became overwhelmed for a brief moment. He soon realised, though, that it was a good overwhelment - if that was even a _word_ - and he proceeded to carefully lie on top of Bella, supporting himself with his elbows.

"Are you s-sure now?" he repeated. "I-"

"Edward, I'm sure you haven't been like this in the past," she said, a little impatiently.

"But they didn't mean anything," he murmured. He knew that he was making himself very vulnerable by admitting things like this, but with Bella he didn't really have any fear; he finally felt comfortable. With that in mind, he gave her another tender kiss before proceeding to do something he'd longed to for an _incredibly_ long time.

* * *

**Sorry, I don't do lemons (yet!) **

**Anyway, thanks for reading as always and I hope you enjoyed the fluff, as ashiana wanted! :P Two more chapters left now...**

**Random note, if there's anybody who's good with making banners and stuff, please PM me if you'd be interested in making me one for a new story because I'd really love one. Thanks again!**


	9. A Good Day

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Nine – A Good Day_

Bella rolled over in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent against her pillow, and Edward watched her from the side, admiring how relaxed her face was in this state. He couldn't resist any longer, so he reached over and moved a stray strand of hair that had dropped over into her eyes. Surprisingly, this small movement made her awaken and she moaned and twisted, gradually opening her eyes.

At first she was completely disorientated. This wasn't her room... this was...

Edward's.

_Edward's!_

Everything suddenly flashed back to her in an instant and she whipped around quickly, kicking Edward's leg in the process.

"Ow," he muttered. "Good morning to you, too."

She frowned at him. "What? I... We... So it wasn't all a dream? Did we really go to the marriage counselling? Did we-"

He nodded in amusement. "We certainly did. Are you usually like this in the mornings, all fuzzy and confused?"

"No," she replied, sitting upright. "I just... well, I didn't think it was true." A few seconds later, her cheeks flushed with heat and she shook her head in disbelief. "And I wasn't meant to say that aloud." _Way to embarrass yourself, Bella._

"Well, I can assure you," he breathed, leaning forwards to kiss her neck, "that last night most certainly happened."

She grinned, amazed by how her whole body reacted to him. They were wrapped up warmly in his bed sheets, yet his lips seemed to cause a shiver to ripple across her skin.

"Hang on," she suddenly said, freezing for different reasons. "What day is it today?"

He frowned for a moment, genuinely stumped. "Um... well yesterday was Monday wasn't it? So that makes it Tuesday."

She turned around and glanced at the clock, and her eyes seemed to widen in horror. "Shit!"

Before Edward could blink, she had leapt out of bed and was fumbling around in the semi-darkness for her clothes. He couldn't help noticing her bare skin as she did so and he crept out of bed, weaving his hands around her.

"No, Edward, I can't..." she muttered, squinting at the floor. "Where's my bra?"

"Why not?" he moaned, handing her the pink lingerie.

"Thanks. I have work and I'm late..." she groaned, hurriedly pulling a jumper over her head. "I took the day off yesterday for that stupid counselling and if I'm late now... ugh, I could seriously lose my job."

"But you're always there on time usually," he said, chucking her skirt over. "Maybe he'll understand?"

"Yeah? What would my excuse be?" she replied, clearly sceptical.

"I overslept because my wonderful new boyfriend kept me awake a lot of last night..." he offered, resisting a grin.

"That'd certainly go down well," she replied, but she found it hard to be genuinely angry; she had a boyfriend! How long had it been...? "Argh," she grumbled, refocusing. "I won't even have time to shower..."

"Hang on, slow down," Edward said, gently reaching for her hands. "Just calm down, take a shower, get some new clothes and tell your boss that something came up. Say it was an emergency. I'm sure he won't fire you or anything like that. Besides, who'd want to lose somebody as good as you?"

Bella felt herself blushing and chewed on her lip indecisively. "Should I?"

"Go on," he nodded. She hurried off towards the door and he called, "Hey, any chance I could join you in the shower?"

She turned around and saw him looking back at her innocently, like a little child who had been caught with his hands in the sweet jar. After a few minutes' deliberation, she opened the door with a grin. "As long as it's quick."

He wasted no time and ran after her, laughing all the way.

* * *

"Sorry! Sorry I'm late!" Bella cried, rushing through the doors of the office feeling incredibly flustered. She saw her boss, Jasper Whitlock, staring at her from within his office but, to her relief, he nodded and gestured to her seat. _Phew._

Her mind was a mess after her morning _wash _with Edward and she fumbled around with her computer, wondering why the screen wouldn't come on. "Stupid piece of junk..."

"Bella, you need to flick the switch."

She turned around to see Emmett, her friend and fellow colleague, staring at her a little strangely.

"Oh," she murmured, quickly doing as he had advised. "Uh, thanks."

After a few more minutes of hurriedly moving everything around, she had the distinct feeling that she was being watched again and, sure enough, when she looked up, Emmett was eyeing her carefully, as though she was a guinea pig of some sort.

"Something wrong?" she asked breathlessly while typing in her password to log in. To her annoyance, she'd somehow mistyped on the keys and it took her several attempts to produce the right combination.

"You tell _me_," he replied, moving his chair closer. "Has something happened?"

She clicked at her mouse and couldn't resist smiling. "You could say that."

His eyes widened. "You've finally had some?"

Her mouth dropped open at his blunt remark. "No... well, _yes_, but... _no_. Not _just_ that. I... I have a boyfriend."

"Hurrah, finally!" he said loudly, attracting some attention from other curious workers in the office. "Well done, girl. What's his name?"

"Um... he's actually my flatmate," she told him, focusing on the screen. "Edward, his name is."

"But I heard you on the phone before moaning about him."

She raised her eyebrows. "Have you been eavesdropping?"

"No," he replied shiftily. "I just... overheard."

"Eavesdropping, then," she sighed.

"Sorry Bella, I couldn't help it. But I'm happy for you... for once you've come in here not looking like you could kill somebody."

"Excuse me?"

"Well you usually arrive looking as though it's the end of the world. It's been worse lately, but now it's nice to see you smile and look reasonably relaxed. Although you need to calm yourself a bit more or you're never gonna get any work done."

She couldn't help laughing. "Thanks, Emmett."

He started to swivel away, but made a noise and moved back towards her. "Oh, I didn't tell you, did I?"

"Tell me what?"

"You know that Alice Brandon?"

"Ugh. Sadly, yes. What's she been bragging about this time?"

"Nothing. You know she was going on about being promoted?" She nodded. "Well, that never happened. She was actually fired."

"_Fired_?"

"Yeah! Apparently Mr Whitlock was pissed off with her always trying it on with him and now she's gone!"

Bella grinned in self satisfaction. "Well, this day is getting better and better."

* * *

She usually spent her lunch breaks fretting in her stress diary, but this time when it rolled around to 1am, Bella walked over to the shredder and slowly destroyed all the pages. It was strangely pleasant watching the paper being made into tiny pieces and she hoped that she'd never have to use it again.

But, just as she thought this, something occurred to her. _Rose..._

_Crumbs, I'm gonna have to tell her... but what would she think? She'd really take the piss and would have trouble stopping..._

She sighed, walking over to her desk. _No, I promised to be truthful to her. I've got to do this._

Her heart hammered familiarly when she picked up the phone and dialled her friend's number. It rang a few times and Rose's voice soon travelled into her ear. "Hello?"

"H-Hi, Rose, it's Bella."

"I could have guessed that. Your regular phone calls are becoming predictable."

"Oh. Sorry... am I bothering you?"

"No, not at all," she replied honestly. "Looks like we're both pretty lonely on our lunch breaks."

"You should come over sometime, really. It'd be fantastic to see you and there's somebody here in the office who I think would be perfect for you." She smiled to herself, thinking of Rose and Emmett as a couple. He'd been curious about her before, so that was a good sign...

"That really sounds great, Bells, I'd _love_ to get away. Maybe sometime soon."

"Yeah, definitely," Bella replied eagerly. Then, as the conversation trailed off, she felt the familiar dread creep in. "Um, Rose, there's something I have to tell you."

"I don't like the sound of that... is it something serious? Something bad?"

"No, no," she answered quickly. "It's good, really. Kind of."

"Then why do you sound nervous?"

"Good p-point. I've, um... well, I've got a boyfriend."

There was a short pause. "I'm going to be psychic here, so be prepared. Does his name begin with E, and finish with dward?"

Bella's eyes widened in shock. "But... I... how the _hell _did you know?"

"Oh, Bells, it's been obvious for weeks now. Even though we live hundreds of miles away, I could tell. You moan about him all the time, but I guessed, deep down, that there were some feelings there. When you told me about the marriage thing, even though it was _incredibly_ amusing, I knew it'd eventually lead to something. I'm pleased for you, I really am."

Bella sat there with her mouth wide open. _It's like everyone knew how Edward and I felt about each other before we both knew ourselves! First the counsellor, now Rose._

"Bells, are you catching flies?"

She snapped out of her trance and chuckled to herself. "Sorry, I just... I'm amazed."

Rose grinned. "I'll have to meet him sometime when I come over. Give him my stamp of approval."

She laughed nervously and couldn't quite say anything to that.

"Anyway Bells, I'd better go now. We'll have to talk more later, I've just got to do something. You'll have to tell me how everything's going with your parents and we need to arrange something."

"Ugh, okay. Speak to you later. And thanks, Rose."

"No problem. Bye!"

Bella hung up the phone and smiled to herself; she'd expected some kind of lecture but knowing that even Rose approved made her feel fantastic.

Instead of spending the rest of her lunch alone, she had the sudden urge to go home and see Edward.

So that's what she did, without any further consideration.

* * *

"Bella! What do I owe for this pleasure?"

She grinned at him, hurrying over for a kiss, something that never failed to make her breath falter. "I wanted to see you. Beats staying in a lonely office."

"I'm honoured," he murmured against her lips, holding her close. "Although I think your Mom would like a quick word."

Bella pulled back away from him and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't think so. Go see her now, she's in the lounge."

She eyed him carefully for a moment and followed his instructions. He watched her go and smiled to himself, thinking back to his earlier conversation with Renee.

_Taking a deep breath, Edward knocked and popped his head through the small gap in the doorway. Renee was on the sofa sitting on her own, reading a magazine that he recognised. She looked up at him, a question mark dancing on her face._

_"Hi," he said, somewhat nervously. His arms tensed at his sides. "I... erm, I just wanted to talk to you about something, if that's okay?"_

_Her eyes widened. "Is Bella pregnant?"_

_A laugh rumbled from him. "No. Definitely not. It's just... well, I don't know how to say this without sounding rude... but..." He rubbed at his forehead anxiously. _Just spit it out, Cullen._ "Well, she's still a little upset about when you left her a few years ago."_

_His words came out in a rush and Renee looked at him wordlessly, feeling a pang of pain in her stomach that she recognised as guilt. "But, I...I thought she was fine about it. I-"_

_He shook his head, gaining a little confidence. "It was a little cruel just leaving her here without any choice. She's always thought you haven't really valued her."_

_"Of course I do, she's my _daughter_," she said softly. "I didn't know she felt this way." Her throat suddenly felt raw as she considered all the time that she'd been out of her own child's life; it was too long. How could she have expected her to cope so long? She was barely out of school._

_Before she knew it, tears were trailing down her cheeks and she sighed, shaking her head in disgust. "I'm sorry. I never realised... I genuinely thought she was okay with everything. She seemed to be..."_

_Edward looked at her silently._

_"I'll put things right." She sniffed and sat upright with a new found determination. "I really will. Thank you, Edward. I really never knew."_

_He managed a small smile and nodded, mentally crossing that off his to-do list. Next: get a proper job._

Bella popped her head through the door, mirroring Edward's earlier actions, and her mother looked up, seeming to be a little sadder than usual. Her body instinctively went cold and she prepared herself for bad news - the day had been going too well; something was _bound _to go wrong.

"What's happened?" she asked, taking a seat beside her.

Renee looked at her carefully. "Bella, I'm sorry."

"What's happened?" she repeated.

"Nothing. I'm just... I'm sorry for leaving you so carelessly all those years ago. I didn't really think about what we were doing and I thought you might have been okay with it, but now that I've considered it, I've realised how cruel it was." She reached over and held her daughter's hands. "Sorry, Bells. I really am."

Bella looked down at their joined hands. "Thank you," she whispered. "I've kind of been waiting for an apology. But did Edward put you up to this?"

"No," she lied. "He just told me how you felt and, now that I know, I'm going to be a better mother. It was mean of me to just come back into your life suddenly like this... so, I've been thinking. Phil and I are going to buy our own home. A new home somewhere else."

Bella frowned. "But _this_ is your home..."

"No. You and Edward need it more, I realise that. Phil and I will move out soon and let you get on with your life."

"But Mom, I-"

"Of course we'll still keep in contact, but I know it's the right thing to do. We'll find a place nearby and I'll be a worthwhile Mom."

Bella paused and eventually smiled. "Thank you so much, Mom. Are you completely sure?"

"Completely," she said, returning the smile. "I've even got a property brochure."

"Wow. You must really mean it, then."

"I'm really gonna be a better Mom now. I've missed out on several years without you and that's... that's just unacceptable."

"Thank you," she breathed quietly, pleading with herself not to get upset. "Anyway, I'd better get going now. Back to work."

"Okay love. See you later."

"Love you," Bella smiled.

"Love you too."

She quickly hurried into the kitchen to say goodbye to Edward. "Thank you," was all she managed. He smiled tenderly. "No problem."

* * *

**Just one more chapter to go now and things are turning out pretty nicely!**

**Thanks for reading and bearing with me - I know this isn't my best work, but I hope it's been reasonably readable. Please leave some feedback if you possibly can!**


	10. A New Life

**Husband for Hire**

_Chapter Ten – A New Life_

_****__Three months later..._

"So _this_ is the famous Edward..."

Rose was standing in the doorway, raising her eyebrows at Bella who, in her opinion, looked absolutely petrified, almost like an animal caught in a car's headlights. Edward, however, just smiled back at her, cool as a cucumber, and crept a hand around his girlfriend's waist, a position he always seemed to find himself in lately. He wasn't going to complain, though; he couldn't resist touching her at any given opportunity.

"That's me," he smiled. "And I'm assuming you're Rose... Bella's actually told me a lot about you."

"Really?" she said carefully, stepping inside while he took her red coat. Her eyebrows were raised up high into her blonde hair. "And what's she been saying?"

"About how amazing you are, of course."

He couldn't help smirking at this point and she nudged him gently in the chest. "It's alright, Bells, you don't have to worry." Rose eyed him carefully. "He seems... adequate."

Edward nodded slowly. "That'll do for me."

"She's messing with you," Bella chuckled, relaxing a bit more now.

"This is a really nice place you have, y'know," she continued when they walked through into the lounge. Her eyes were scanning the rooms in clear approval. "I can't believe your parents just gave it to you like that. It seems awfully nice of them."

"Yeah... they found a house a few miles away from here and moved out just under a month ago," Bella told her. "That doesn't stop them visiting every weekend, though."

"Did they ever find out that your marriage was a fake?" she asked, unable to resist a laugh at the end. "It all sounds so ridiculous now. God, how I laughed when you told me about that."

Edward smirked, then shook his head. "No, they didn't. Maybe it'll be real one day, though..."

When she heard this, Bella nearly tripped over on her way to the kitchen, only just managing to steady herself. She glanced back at him and saw an amused look dancing on his face. Had he seriously just been suggesting that they were-

"Do you w-want coffee, Rose?" she babbled before her thoughts could have a chance to finish. _Don't be ridiculous, you've only been together for three months._

_But, you've known each other for almost a year..._

_God, I'm really fed up of arguing with myself in my own head!_

Rose's voice brought her attention back to reality. "That sounds great."

"I'll help you," Edward said, joining her in the other room. He closed the door behind him and faced Bella, smiling as she dashed around the place, purposefully ignoring his gaze. This lasted for several minutes, even when the kettle had boiled, and they eventually met each other's eyes.

"Did I say something to upset you?"

Bella sighed, shaking her head. "No. It's just... uh, strange seeing Rose, that's all."

He walked over and reached for her hand, stroking her warm skin gently with his thumb. "Now why don't I believe a word of that?"

A smile broke across her face briefly. "You can tell when I'm lying now, then?"

He remained silent and she eventually gave in, speaking quietly. "You just caught me by surprise saying about the whole marriage thing. It brought back memories of a few months ago. It's nothing, really."

He manoeuvred himself behind her and leaned his face on her shoulder. "Bad memories?"

"No, no," she mumbled, loving the feeling of his hair against her cheek. "I just can't believe how fast it's gone by."

He hummed in agreement and Bella felt the vibrations rumble along her skin. "It's been great so far though, hasn't it?"

She grinned. "Especially that one time we went bowling. You were _shockingly_ bad."

He gasped in mock offence. "It wasn't my fault the ball got stuck in my fingers."

"Oh?" she teased. "I suppose it wasn't your fault either when the ball flew into the next lane?"

"Of course not. We clearly used faulty balls."

They both snorted at this point and Bella crept around him to finish making the coffee.

"What would happen one day if we _did_ decide to get married?"

Edward's question caught Bella off guard and she missed the cup, sprinkling sugar onto the table. "Shoot." While she brushed it away, she considered her answer. "I suppose we'd have to do it without my parents. Or... we could "renew" our wedding vows. I dunno, I haven't thought about it." She stole a glance from over her shoulder and saw him nodding thoughtfully. "Why do you ask?" she continued. "Any... plans?"

There was silence for a few moments and she whipped around, seeing him staring ahead. "Edward?"

He blinked and looked at her. "Sorry... I was just thinking."

She eyed him carefully before nodding. "Uh... let's go next door. We don't wanna keep Rose waiting any longer."

* * *

"So, have you missed Forks?"

Rose glanced up at Edward's question and nodded. "Even though the weather's crap, yeah, I do."

"When did you move away?"

"Just after we'd left high school." She met Bella's eyes and smiled weakly. "It was tough, but they offered me a job over in Phoenix. The weather was incredible over there but, in the end, the work wasn't what I'd expected."

"Are you gonna stay here permanently?"

She pondered this, also thinking about how decent Edward seemed; he appeared to be genuinely interested in her and Bella, something which was hard to find in a man. They both looked fond of each other too and she smiled to herself, glad that Bella had _finally _found somebody.

"I'm really considering it actually."

"That would be great," Bella suddenly said.

"Yeah," Edward added. "And there are plenty of great places and jobs around here. Hey, maybe you could work with Bella...?"

The two females exchanged glances. "Now _that_ would be fun."

Bella nodded in agreement. "But we'd terrorise the workplace..."

"Like I said, sounds fun."

"But seriously, Rose, you should really consider it."

She smiled. "I'm practically convinced already."

* * *

"Rose and Emmett seem to be getting on well."

Edward had just leant towards Bella to speak into her ear, mainly because they were surrounded by blazing lights and loud music, therefore making it _very_ difficult to hear or think clearly. She didn't mind this though; it was merely another excuse to get closer to Edward and feel his breath against her skin. He didn't mind either; he could subtly inhale and relish in the smell of her strawberry shampoo scented hair.

"Yeah," she replied, leaning close to him this time. "They can't keep their hands off each other!"

"Hmmm," he murmured, running his hands down her back and feeling the fabric of her dress. She looked amazing tonight at Emmett's party which they'd been invited to, and Edward wanted her to be aware of that. "You're beautiful."

She felt the familiar heat creep into her cheeks; he'd said that to her a lot over the months and she'd grown to learn to just take the compliment without moaning. "Thank you. That suit suits you, too."

"That's a mouthful," he laughed.

She was just about to say something else when a booming voice coming from behind them made her jump a mile. "Bella! I'm glad you made it!"

It was Emmett who'd wandered over to greet them both and Edward watched in amusement as Bella shook her head, trying to calm down. "Gee, Emmett, you could have given me a warning!"

He grinned back and his eyes shifted to Edward. "I'm Emmett, it's great to meet you."

They shook hands and Edward honestly believed that his fingers were in danger of being crushed. "God, you're like a bear or something!"

Emmett stared at him in confusion and Edward coughed a few times, realising how random he'd sounded. _Shit, I wouldn't want to make this guy mad... _"Um, I mean you're strong and... well, I, uh, I thought you were gonna break my hand."

To his surprise, he snorted and clapped him on the back. Hard. "I like you." His eyes flickered to Bella. "And, I also like your friend. The blonde one, Rose, I think her name was. Is she free?"

"No, she costs ten dollars an hour," Edward joked and Bella nudged him in the ribs. "Oi, my friend is not a prostitute!"

He grinned back while Emmett chuckled. "No, seriously, is she?"

"You mean if she's single?" Bella asked. "The short answer is yes."

"What's the long answer?" Edward queried.

"That doesn't really matter," Bella grinned. "You've got all the details you need."

"Oh yes," Emmett laughed. "Do you think she likes me?"

Bella sneaked a peek at Rose who was over getting some drinks in the corner and they met each other's eyes. Rose glanced over at Emmett and smiled tentatively, a sign that Bella knew well. "I think she does," she told Emmett, whose beam was so wide that he resembled a kid on Christmas Day.

"Sweet. See ya later anyway, I've got work to do."

Before they could even reply, he had rushed off towards Rose and was already busy talking away to her. Edward and Bella exchanged a glance; his eyebrows pulled together suddenly. "What's this party for again?"

Bella blew out a long breath. "He regularly throws random parties. Any old excuse to get drunk."

"Well, he seems nice," Edward commented.

"He's helped me cope in work for the past few years."

"That's reminded me," he suddenly said. "I think I may have secured a job for myself."

Bella's eyes widened. "Really? I never thought I'd hear _that_!"

He snickered. "Yeah, it's with this company who specialise in fixing computers. It's not exactly Physics or anything, but it's certainly interested me and they're thinking of hiring me. I should hear the news in a few days' time."

"That's fantastic news!" she smiled. "We're becoming very domesticated now..."

"Yeah, we'll both come home from work everyday and have dinner at the table..."

"Or just in front of the TV," she offered, making a laugh escape his lips.

"Sounds better, actually. More comfortable."

"Typical of you..."

Bella trailed off, thinking to herself just how much everything had turned around in such a short space of time. She had a fantastic relationship with Edward now - it was almost as though their snappy remarks and grimaces from before had never even happened; they were a distant memory that she never particularly wanted to recall.

As well as that, she now had a great new friendship with her mother and they saw each other every Saturday without fail. To Bella's delight, Phil wasn't involved _too_ much, but she found him just about tolerable now. He'd never replace her father Charlie, but he was bearable.

"Y'know Bella, I..."

Edward's unusually soft voice trailed off and she frowned towards him, mimicking his actions from earlier. "Yes?"

He met her eyes. "I just never thought something like this would ever happen to me. I... gee," he rubbed at his forehead, "I sound like a right idiot."

She smiled at him and raised a hand to his hair, gently trailing her fingers through it. "What's new, then?"

"Oi," he grinned. "No, seriously now... it's like I've been given a new life."

"Let's make it a good one, then."

"Let's."

He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers, trying to convey in such a simple gesture just how much she meant to him. "I really do love you," he murmured against her lips, the sound muffled by her skin. She pulled apart and looked at him momentarily in disbelief. After she recovered, the honest words flowed freely. "As I love you."

_The End_

* * *

**So there we go. Again, I hope it wasn't too cheesy... it's just nice to have fluff without angst for once!**

**Anyway, this was never really gonna be a long story, I just wanted to write a jerky Edward and I think it turned out reasonably okay! Thanks for sticking with me during some iffy updates and so on, it's very much appreciated as always.**

**Now, sometime next week I'll be posting a new story called 'What the Future Holds.' It's gonna be different to everything I've done before; it's gonna be longer, more detailed and will feature both Edward and Bella's POV. Anyway, that's a bit of a ramble but please put on the Author Alert if that interests you.**

**Thanks once again and I'll hopefully have you reading the new story! :)**


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